On The Space Shuttle Program

This is one of my favorite rants from The West Wing and it is exactly the right way to start this blog.  "There are a lot of hungry people in the world and none of them are hungry because we went to the moon."

I’m sure it’s a coincidence that the last space shuttle flight launched on the eve of my trip to Tanzania, but I can’t help but try and attach some meaning to it. The space shuttle program is what inspired me to become a mechanical engineer; it is the pinnacle of both technical excellence and human aspirations. We looked up and said “let’s go there,” and so two generations of American engineers spent their careers first putting us on the moon and then guaranteeing human presence in space for another thirty years with a reusable spacecraft.


Given current dilemmas both domestic and international, the question is often asked what service human space flight provides. Stephen Hawking argues we must colonize space to ensure the proliferation of the human species and while he makes a convincing argument, it’s not the only one. I needn’t list the ubiquitous technologies derived from the space program (I’m sure you’ll agree Velcro alone has justified the space program). I think the best argument for continued human presence in space is that it is simply what we do. In the 15th century we set out for a new world, in the 19th century we turned westward across our new continent (with sad consequences of which none of us are proud). The pursuit of new knowledge and new worlds is a wholly human endeavor; questions lead to both answers and new questions, and to stop asking the questions is to abdicate an important part of our nature.


Of course, human space flight is not coming to an end. Russian cosmonauts continue their program and a multitude of private ventures will soon dart from the earth. But governments must reflect the will and character of the people; when the United States loses its ability to launch humans into space it reflects a lack of interest in this pursuit amongst its citizens. President Obama has tasked the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with a keener focus on atmospheric and earth sciences and given the staggering potential disaster looming resulting from anthropogenic climate change this could not be more welcome. But we can and must continue sending our brethren from our “pale blue dot” because it is what we do. We ask questions and without blinking, without hesitation, and with all the will and fury of a speeding freight train we race towards the answers. Why do we need the answers? Because we asked the question. Why did we ask the question? Because we’re human.


Speaking of being human, I’m headed to Tanzania to hopefully help some fellow humans out. Why? Because it’s simply what we do.