The Universe In all of its Glory; Continuing Onwards and Upwards into the Cosmos

NASA is arguably the greatest and most profound enterprise to come from the US. Exporting the insatiable intellectual curiosity for the cosmos might just be the best diplomatic move the US could make. Instead, we are taking our spaceships out of space, and turning them into museum attractions for children to play in.

As the space shuttle Endeavour prepares for its final flight back to Earth, it’s riveting to imagine the leaps and bounds humanity has made in modern history. We have peered out into the cosmic void only to see images that have astonished our senses, re-vamped our inquisitiveness, and made us reconsider our priorities here on our pale blue dot.

Self-reflection is an important part of any well-rounded individual’s character. If you can’t step outside of your own subjective judgment of self, and analyze your life from a different plane of reality, it becomes difficult to avoid the traps and deceptions of a mediocre life. Momentarily suppressing the ego and having a look at self can be a riveting exercise, but how far out are we willing to step back? Consider the contemplation of your own evolution. Where does your consciousness come from? What was the inception of your fruition? The answer is quite simple really, the beginning of the universe.
The United States is effectively cancelling its manned space program. With the retirement of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, a young ship who has only made 25 of the allotted 100 flights its engineers built it to fly, the US is backing up from the precipice that it worked so hard to reach. Countless new technologies and discoveries have been made due to the space shuttle program. Hubble alone would have been decommissioned a long time ago had it not been for the crew of the Endeavour MANUALLY refocusing its lenses, and allowing us to peer into the universal void.

The main criticisms of the space shuttle program, and some of the factors behind its decommission include cost efficacy, and the inherent danger to human life. That is a ridiculous and laughable argument. Juxtapose the space missions with the US’s perpetual war machine, which continues to invade and “liberate” barren countries in the name of “global security”. Where is the same concern for the countless loss of life and treasure this imperial raid of the Middle East is incurring the US? Countless trillions and over a decade of occupation; enough to make your head spin, yet Congress continues to grant astronomical budgets to the military complex, while ignoring the astronomical ambitions of the nation’s brightest minds.
There is a paradigm shift occurring in the US. We have begun acting out of fear. We are becoming risk averse in areas we can ill-afford to give up our lead. Making decisions out of fear, fear of the loss of life, fear of the loss of another shuttle, is shortsighted. Fear is an extremely counter-productive facilitator to fall victim to. In the near future, Chinese and European students will read about the turning points in time where the United States began to lose its place at the head of the table. Sure 9/11, a corrupt and unscrupulous financial industry, and a war machine hell-bent on securing every last ounce of the world’s most precious natural resource will be cited, but one of the most poignant and profound instances of the US’s loss of confidence in itself will be the day that this country decided to take its space ships out of space, and turn them into museum exhibits.

Cancelling the Space Shuttle Program would have been a momentous occasion and a milestone in scientific and political progress had there been a viable replacement program. A newer and better way for the US to continue to send inquisitive minds and bodies into space, to learn, to discover, and to share. Alas, there is no replacement program; there is no moving forward.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle Program (1981-2011).

4 comments on “The Universe In all of its Glory; Continuing Onwards and Upwards into the Cosmos”

  1. herbie says:

    If you really think about it, 2012 is projected to have some super powerful solar flares. They can’t risk sending men into space!

  2. Average says:

    Russians will continue to man international space station. US is crumbling.

  3. Fact-man says:

    The US is already done for. We dont have the money or the will to explore space or do any other damn thing. The DoD has control of all of the money, so the only thing that we can do is war. Look forward to wars against Iran and China. WW3, here we come!

  4. ian says:

    This is just wrong, very sad. what shall we tell our children when they ask us why? And there’s not much we can do except watch it slip away. so much for the american dream. but as for me i will continue to look up amazed. And hope that we all regain that dream,always remembering that humanity touched the heavens. And inspired us all.

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