To Infinity And Beyond! - The Space Program
By Sydney Wright
In the days of the Apollo Space Program, a frenzy of patriotic competition fueled the financial engines blasting the U.S. and the Soviet Union into space. This impetus enabled the U.S. to send a man to the moon, and on July 20, 1969 the stars and stripes were planted in the lunar dust. The pride that came with that achievement would last for years. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the downsizing of both countries’ nuclear arsenals, the role of the United States space program has gone through major changes. Its future is far from certain, with Congress eager to make budget cuts. Enthusiasm for space is waning, with many wishing to concentrate on the more tangible problems here on Earth. The importance of the Space Program, however, has been underestimated. The Space Program should be emphasized, continued, and expanded; in some form or another, because it promises benefits of improved economies, better living situations, and it satisfies our need for achievement and improvement.
An often quoted reason in research papers, and a crucial one here is economics. The Space Program could improve economic situations the world over. The Space Program creates abundant jobs, a major benefit in countries struggling to stabilize economies and in countries with many unemployed or underemployed workers. Private companies will be scouting for people to fill technological positions, and training will become more available and commonplace. Eventually, the Space Program could boost the general education level as more people become involved in advanced work and more students further their education to land job positions in those advanced career fields. The Space Program will definitely boost the technological sectors of the world economy; because other technology branches out from space research. We will see more countries becoming economic powers through hard work and innovation. For example, the economic progress of Japan would never have been possible without the advent of the Electronic Age. The space program will create technological hotbeds and will provide abundant growth opportunities for companies, both large and small. When talking of the benefits, we must keep in mind that the Space Program has already become and may become more privatized and multinational. Inefficiency can be reduced: contracting and more privatization can reduce costs; but the government will still be a major beneficiary of the Space Program. Work between nations is already commencing on the International Space Station, and international cooperation can benefit all those involved with improved foreign relations and trust. The Space Program will also give our government something to do besides investigate juicy scandals. With the end of the cold war, our soldiers, pilots, weapons, and the Pentagon need something to do! Nuclear missile and other Cold War technology can be utilized for more peaceful and constructive purposes. Those who claim that the Space Program is a total waste of money ought to modify their criticism to be constructive.
A very important benefit of the Space Program is that it contributes to better living situations. From the improved economies discussed in the preceding paragraph, we can see several portents for better living situations. One might even go so far to say that it could help lessen the widespread world poverty situation. It could create education and employment opportunities in poor countries, and education is the doorway out of poverty. Secondly, space promises to reduce world hunger and increase health. Research done in space can bring breakthroughs in hydroponics (the science of growing plants in nutrient solutions instead of soil and can help us find ways to grow crops in difficult situations. Also, space enables us to create new technology using manufacturing techniques that are only possible in weightlessness. Advancements in this category can be electronic or chemical. Wouldn’t the Space Program justify its cost if it astronauts discovered how to make the next miracle drug in space? Yet most people would give more financial support to flashy missions with public relations purposes than to the normal, humdrum research trips that lift off amid no fanfare. As for new technology, most people fail to notice that without the Space Program none of their unappreciated but much-used technology would be possible. For example, the international voice, data, and television network would not be possible were it not for dependable geosynchronus satellites (those satellites that orbit at the same speed that the Earth rotates and thus stay in one spot over the Earth). Were it not for the Space Program, you would not be able to watch the soap operas or ESPN on the DSS (digital satellite system) you have at home. Commercial satellites are being increasingly launched using private rockets. Several companies are beginning to build cheap, reusable rockets that will enable payloads to be put into orbit for even less money. The Space Program also contributes greatly to security. Spy satellites have enabled many international crises to be resolved peacefully. Spy satellites scour the Earth’s surface using visible and infrared light to give us advance warning when some madman starts to build weapons of mass destruction. They are sensitive enough to determine whether a car has been driven in the last day or two. Spy satellites can reduce the need for undercover agents facing death if caught and for costly manned spy planes; thus avoiding damaging debacles. Eventually, satellites could even be used to improve personal security: to solve crimes and even to prevent them from happening. For example, one Israeli company is marketing an inconspicuous electronic implant to those people at high risk for kidnapping and extortion crimes. This implant, using signals transmitted to a satellite network, can determine the wearer’s location anywhere on Earth to a distance of a few meters. Weather satellites, though more mundane, can be just as useful. They collect crucial data on global weather patterns, such as our beloved El Niņo. Weather satellites aid us in detecting the formation of destructive hurricanes. Granted, we are limited in what we can predict now, but in the future perhaps many lives may be saved with foreknowledge and advance preparation. On a more hypothetical tangent, could there not be some security benefits to colonization and expansion? If we plan ahead (way ahead!) we can be ready when the sun burns out, or when the inhabitants of Earth destroy themselves. We could kill two birds with one stone. First, we would solve the Earth’s overpopulation and overcrowding problems. Second, we would take out a galactic insurance policy on the survival of this resilient human race by spreading out among the stars. Wouldn’t it be better not to have all of our eggs in one basket? We could secure our future.
The last, and least concrete topic, is improvement, or humanity’s quest for progress. As a species, we seem to have a unique curiosity and need for knowledge. Exploration is merely a search for knowledge of our surroundings. We have conquered the highest peak of the Himalayas, and the deepest trench of our oceans. The human race has expanded to blanket the Earth, and the few parts that are least settled are becoming more so every day. To use a quaint term from a certain unnamed science fiction television show, space is, quite literally, “the final frontier”. What greater challenge is there than to explore and colonize the universe that lies before us? Mars - our most hospitable neighbor beckons us with open little green arms. Likewise, the Moon, with its low gravity, poses potential for a “space slingshot” capable of flinging payloads into their desired trajectories. Progress can come in many forms. Although less glamorous than light speed, don’t our gradual improvements in living standards count as progress? Speaking of lightspeed, NASA must not think it to be THAT farfetched, because they have researchers working on it and other highly theoretical topics. Wormholes, warp drives, and gravity bending are all being looked into. Other, more immediately practical technology is already being put to the test. There was a rocket launch that went almost completely unnoticed by the media and the general public, because it was overshadowed by the John Glenn mission. This spaceship was launched into the outer reaches of space, never again to return, using an experimental ion engine. It has very little acceleration energy, requires little energy to use, and exerts a slow but steady stream of ions. With nothing to slow it down and this ion drive propelling it, the unmanned ship will gain speed until it is moving at a mind-blowing speed. It compares its view of the stars with one stored in its powerful computer databases to determine its position, and makes many decisions autonomously. This poses great potential, truthfully much more than putting an eighty-year-old into orbit did.
The ideas and promises put forth in this essay in no way require just one certain type of space program. They require leadership and a public aware of the costs and benefits of different options, and most of all they require an open mind. Changes should definitely be made - anything without change is as good as dead; but to eliminate the utilization of space entirely would be dangerously stunting. The Space Program should be emphasized, continued, and expanded; in some form or another, because it promises benefits of improved economies, better living situations, and it satisfies our need for achievement and improvement. Without space, what is there to look forward too?
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain
“Some people call me the Space Cowboy...” - Steve Miller Band
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