50 years ago today...

[Rami]

To all,

I showed this to my students today...

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[papab]

I was nine years old and watched the launch on a B/W tv in our classroom..
Thanks for the memories!
Rick

[ColoKent]

...our manned space program is just about over-- and with it US leadership in that field.

I know our current national "leadership" is extremely happy about that-- but I'm not.

Kent

[Rami]

...our manned space program is just about over-- and with it US leadership in that field.

I know our current national "leadership" is extremely happy about that-- but I'm not.

Kent

Kent,

Remember...the Space program existed solely because we were scared s*itless that the Soviets would dominate space and rain destruction from above, and we needed to prevent them from being first. Without the Cold War, the Space Race would have never existed. That's why the death of a rival superpower meant the decline of the space program.

Now...spot China another decade or two, and maybe...heck...the only difference is that "Tang" is one of the Chinese astronauts. :icon_lol:

[ColoKent]

...decline is one thing, near extinction is another. But I do at least understand BHO's motivations for killing it.

K

[AndyG43]

They way I see it it's not dead, but the days of it being a US Government funded program are over.

The way forward now has to be commercial exploitation, and I think there are some very exciting developments in that field.

Virgin Galactic (http://www.virgingalactic.com/) are well into the test flights of SpaceShip Two; there are those who deride the suborbital nature of the flights, forgetting that was exactly what Smiling Al did.

And I'm watching the developments at SpaceX (http://www.spacex.com/) with great interest. Considering this company is only 9 years old, what they have achieved is mind boggling. My only hope is that they are allowed to continue, and given the encouragement and contracts they need; my concern here is Boeing, with so many politicians with vested interests in them (as been demonstrated again so recently).

[ColoKent]

....I hope you are correct in your belief-- although with the anti-business drumbeat in progress here, it's hard to see the incentive for US companies to do anything.

I think the primary reason for the termination is that spaceflight was a high visibility example of American greatness-- and as a result, it could not be left in place by BHO. It can't be a funding issue-- compared to government handout programs, the amount we spend on human spaceflight is a rounding error.

[AndyG43]

....I hope you are correct in your belief-- although with the anti-business drumbeat in progress here, it's hard to see the incentive for US companies to do anything.

erm, might be worth pointing out that Virgin Galactic has an English CEO!! :kilroy:

Both these companies are fronted by genuine visionaries, but who temper their vision with pragmatism - in both cases they are taking a long term view, but equally their respective track records give me confidence that their gamble will be rewarded, as long as the dreaded vested interests don't interfere.

And America isn't the only nation venturing into space, and never has been. Yes, you had a very visible & impressive manned space program, and the achievements of Mercury/Gemini/Apollo were incredible, as was the Shuttle program; but all of those programs were politically driven (for example, Kennedy's Man on the Moon in a decade speech) and that political imperative (as has been pointed out already) is no longer there - and it could be argued that a more robust & lasting legacy may have resulted if the DynaSoar/MOL route had been pursued, rather than the MISS one.

Meanwhile in Europe we went a different route; Ariane is now a mature proven launch vehicle (even though as a Brit it might have been nice to see a Blue Streak-derived launcher), and some of the most exciting innovations in the field of Earth science in the past 20 years have come from the thriving British satellite industry.


So, yes, NASA are no longer the force they once were; but is that necessarily a bad thing?

[stiz]

erm, might be worth pointing out that Virgin Galactic has an English CEO!! :kilroy:

and a total explorer nut .. but in a great way, hes also planning to go to the bottom of the sea and "fly" around down their in his sub/subplane thingi ma jig :)

[Jagdflieger]

I too remember watching the launch on B&W TV in the classroom. Up until they brought the TV in to the room, I didn't know the school had a TV.

At that tender age, the real question of the day for me was not about the intricacies of space flight, but where in the world they kept all those TVs! In hind sight, it must have been the teacher's personal TV from home.

[SpitXIV]

I remember all the mercury launches, I think John Glenn is the only surviving
Mercury Astronaut. Can't believe it's been 50 yrs.

[AndyG43]

I remember all the mercury launches, I think John Glenn is the only surviving
Mercury Astronaut. Can't believe it's been 50 yrs.

Scott Carpenter is still with us as well.

[brad kaste]

As a retired school teacher,....I found most students are TOTALLY clueless about American and World history. Didn't make a dif it occurred 250 years ago,...or 50 years ago,...not a thought in their micro heads. Sad. Especially about US History.

[Rami]

Good morning,

I know this isn't fifty years ago, but this is my favorite moment in the entire series..."Earthrise."

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[pfflyers]

I still get a little fired up remembering the day a co-worker told me about the TV "documentary" he'd watched which "proved" the moon landings were faked. Granted he was too young to have even been alive then, but it drives me nuts that there are people that will pollute the public media with tripe like that.