Out of Space

Image via WikipediaWhen the space shuttle Atlantis took off last Friday, it was witnessed by nearly a million people on Cape Canaveral, Florida, and televised on several networks.  Just like in the good old days.

That's because it was also the last of its kind.  NASA is getting out of the space shuttle business after Atlantis is scheduled to land July 20, having spent its final mission hauling yet another load of supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station.  After this, Americans will be going into space via Russia, its onetime enemy.

To be honest, NASA peaked when men landed on the moon back in 1969.  It was the fulfillment of President John F. Kennedy's challenge to the nation to get this done by the end of the 1960s.  But politics has always trumped science in these matters.  Back then, it was all about beating the Soviet Union to the moon in the Cold War era while Vietnam and the civil rights movement sucked up money and attention.  Well, it was the Eagle that landed, and not the Hammer and Sickle.

When the moon landings ended, the space shuttle era began.  Once the Space Station was put up into orbit, it soon became apparent that all they were going to do with it was to conduct experiments in space and not do any more exploration.  The public yawned and government funding dried up.

When people did pay attention to the shuttle, it was usually because of a tragic event.  The Challenger blew up after liftoff in 1986 and Columbia met a similar fate in 2003, killing all aboard in both instances.  After that, people watched shuttle liftoffs with the same morbid curiosity as those who watched NASCAR races.

Also adding to the public's indifference was the relative anonymity of the space shuttle astronauts.  Back in the 60s, you knew their names:  Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, John Glenn, Alan Shepard and many others.  Now the best known astronaut is Mark Kelly.  That's only because he happens to be married to Gabrielle Giffords, the Democratic Congresswoman from Arizona who is still recovering from gunshot wounds after an assassination attempt.

Yes, taxpayer-funded manned space exploration is over for now.  Private companies will take over and charge thrill-seeking rich folks for the privilege of entering the Final Frontier, while the rest of us will just keep wishing on a star and wonder what's out there.