Today's Discovery launch, photo courtesy NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL: Early this morning NASA launched the space shuttle Discovery, one of the last launches of our shuttle fleet. Only 3 shuttle missions remain this year before the retirement of the most successful takeoff and reentry vehicle in space history.

Considering that our entire communications infrastructure depends on satellites, our administration is taking an enormous risk. Discontinuing the shuttle program before a replacement vehicle has been put into service has severe repercussions:

• USA held hostage to Russians to enter space
• International Space Station is turned over to Russians
• No emergency repairs to communications satellites
• No more repairs to Hubble Telescope
• No entry into space to counter potential Chinese offensives
• No defensive military use of space shuttles
• Our entire communications grid is at risk
• NASA will experience a “brain drain” as engineers leave the program

The “International” Space Station was built almost entirely with US funds. Now it is hands of the Russians. Private space exploration is far from being able to take over for NASA. Virgin’s new commercial space flight has nowhere near the power necessary to project a spacecraft into orbit. Only massive boosters like the space shuttle’s can do that.

On March 23 the NIP interviewed Richard F. Gordon, command module pilot of the Apollo XII mission to the moon regarding potential dangers of discontinuing the shuttle program:

I share your concern, certainly. I don’t know where this administration is coming from at this particular time.  My concern in terms of manned space flight is what is going to happen. I don’t have a answer that I can react to yet. There are several folks in my category that are deeply concerned about it. It’s frustrating. I can’t believe that this country will ultimately have to rely on the Soyuz vehicle and the Russians for access to the space station and low earth orbit.

Gene Cernan warns us in the following video that the US is in danger of becoming a third world country in space. The Obama administration has cancelled the planned moon program, opting instead for some unspecified Mars mission. As any 5th grader could tell you, the moon is on the way to Mars and needs to be used as a base for continued exploration.

We need more great Americans like Gene Cernan and Dick Gordon, but without a viable space program the best and the brightest of our youth will never step up to take their place. The money needed to successfully fund our space program is trivial in comparison to the massive entitlement spending of this socialist Congress. This is one more way the administration is mortgaging our future to gain votes from a constituency that doesn’t know any better.

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