Space Shuttle 8/2005

Key Lecture Points:

• The “Space Race” (1945-1969) was as much a political battle as a military one. The success of Sputnik (1957) called into question US technological superiority and, by extension, the perceived superiority of free market capitalism over collectivization and Communism. During the “Space Race” both the Soviets and the US pumped large amounts of money into their space programs.

• Originally proposed in 1969, the Space Shuttle Program was a Cold War-inspired phenomenon, closely associated with the “Space Race”, and predicated on Cold War levels of Federal funding for NASA.

• The early years of the Space Shuttle Program (1981-1985) were largely successful. Although the shuttle did come in over budget, this was typical of all NASA programs (A 2005 Congressional Budget Office study found that the average NASA program comes in 45% over budget). The ability of the shuttle to be re-used was hailed as a success and its ability to carry out experiments (both open and classified) was also viewed as a success.

• The Challenger Disaster in 1986 opened a debate (which is deepening today) about the safety of and overall cost-benefit of the Space Shuttle. The Rogers Commission, created by Reagan in 1986, called for changes in the Space Shuttle and NASA as a whole to address those issues. Included in the report was a minority statement written by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman which was harshly critical of NASA’s valuing PR over proper engineering.

• After returning to space in 1989, the Shuttle Program launched 80 missions from 1989-2003, including the beginning of the International Space Station (ISS) in 1998, which today is the sole reason for continuation of the Space Shuttle program.

• The Columbia Disaster of 2003, probably caused by a chunk of insulation breaking away from the Shuttle’s External Fuel Tank, deepened the debate over human spaceflight. The loss of a second crew of seven has provided more evidence for abandoning the Space Shuttle program.

• The recent (July 2005) launch of the Space Shuttle, with unprecedented photographic coverage showed that, again, a large chunk of the External Fuel Tank had broken away but this time (fortunately) had not struck the Shuttle Orbiter. A near repeat of the Columbia disaster has led NASA to ground the Space Shuttle until at least March 2006, during which time debate about the future of the Shuttle will intensify.

For More Information:
• History of Space Race
• History of Shuttle Program
• Budget History of NASA
• Rogers Commission Report, including Feynman statement
• History of ISS
• Post-Columbia Debate
• Columbia Accident Investigation Report
• News Report on recent flight

Copyright © 2005 Active Minds for Seniors™. All rights reserved.