So Long, Space Shuttle Program , Forty Years and $192 Billion Later

Launching and repairing the Hubble Telescope. Helping construct the International Space Station. Frankly, these are the only two accomplishments that, off the top of my head, I can recall arising from the oft-criticized Space Shuttle program. From its inception in 1971 to its completion today with the launch of STS-135, we ask ourselves, was it worth it? I think not.

Today marks the end of a dubious era in space exploration. Cost estimates of the Space Shuttle program far exceeded NASA estimates. Policy analyst Roger Pielke Jr. of the University of Colorado, in a recent Nature journal article, put the true cost of the program at $192 billion, or about $1.5 billion per launch. In 1972, the article states, NASA estimated each launch could be done for $10.4 million.

And 14 astronauts lost their lives in the process.

I remember watching from our basement Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin setting foot on the moon during the historic Appolo 11 mission. At the time, putting a man on the moon was arguably humanity's biggest accomplishment. In less than 100 years, we went from horse-drawn carriages to lunar rovers. While space-age spinoffs led to advances in earth-bound science, the fact that an American flag was planted on an orbiting rock a quarter million miles away was, in Armstong's word, a giant leap for mankind.

Then in 1972, President Nixon announced NASA would build a reusable shuttle to assist in the construction of a permanent orbiting space station. Another objective, not without great irony, was to lower the cost of space exploration. Even as a teenager, this seemed like a giant leap backwards. I thought a manned mission to Mars would be next. Let's get a first-hand look at the "Red Planet," long speculated to possibly harbor life in some form. Such an endeavor would prove too costly, however, so we settled on the Viking 1 unmanned craft (launched in 1976), to begin the search for extraterrestrial life on Mars.

After four decades and 135 launches, NASA's space shuttles will become museums pieces, waiting for lines of schoolkids to get a peek inside the cramped quarters that were once home to more than 350 astronauts.

So what's next? I think NASA needs to get out of the space business. Let's privatize space exploration. British billionare Richard Branson's company, Virgin Galactic, has already successfully test-launched its VSS Enterprise for future development. More than 40 companies are already competing in the commercial space race. Although NASA's budget comprises only about one percent of the total Federal budget, I think this money could be better spent here on terra firma. Ending poverty, stopping hunger and fixing a dismal economy come to mind.

The Hubble Telescope is nearing the end of its useful life, and is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere sometime between 2019 and 2032. Russia is taking over the job of shuttling astronauts to the ISS.

I'm sure there are many practical applications and new techonologies derived from the Space Shuttle program. Off the top of my head, I just don't know what they are.