Society Perception

According to all the talk, a decline has been in the works for years.  Why has the space program fallen so far, so fast, they ask.  But nobody ever said declines can't be misinterpreted.  In the end, this one describes, most of all, a society that isn't quite in line with progression.      For the past twenty years, the space shuttle has served America as the first reusable spacecraft ever built.  They are the most complex vehicle ever built.  But wherever, you look, the talk is about how the space program is on a decline because human voyagers have not left earth orbit in more than thirty years.       But, although they were marvels, they seemed timid compared to the act they had to follow.  That was Apollo, the journey to the moon.  The lunar journeys were canceled due to budget cuts in the 1970's.  The Cold War, which was the driving force for Apollo, had lost its momentum and space was no longer a big American priority.      This led to a reliance on earth-orbital ships for the immediate future.  Now three decades have passed.  Although two members of the fleet have been lost in fatal disasters, the shuttle is set to fly on.      In the eyes of many, they have seemed like a letdown compared to Apollo.  And yet, the idea--in the 1970's and still today--was very sound.  It took into account the realization that conflict (Apollo's motive) cannot permanently drive a species into a new environment.         Progress--eventually, at least--needed to come in and of its own logic, and building a "shuttle" to take the layman there would really change the question of "Why do we go into space?"  No longer was it about a Cold War.  Now more people, and different people, would go there and tell us what it really meant.  What it really stood for, beyond international politics.  They would tell us that it was, instead, a place that appealed to opportunity and challenge.  Its meaning would become more basic, more fundamental.      Flash forward thirty years.  Hundreds of shuttle passengers have fulfilled that vital role of communicator.  They have tried to make what they do and where they do it a little more accessible to the general public.  Sitting next to them and listening to them recount their stories, one does not gather any kind of larger than life image.  What they do is extraordinary, no doubt.  But they seem to tell us that it is getting more and more ordinary all the time, thanks to their veteran, well-experienced space shuttle.

The shuttle Discovery, as seen from a camera mounted on the ship's external tank.

"Now more people, and different people, would go there and tell us what it really meant."

The people who ride the space shuttle are trying to make their profession routine.  But the real effect is more complicated than that, because many people find this hard to relate with.  They don't see the logic in regressing from the lunar triumph of Apollo to the repitition of the shuttle.  The concept that says building up capability is the most important step in our exploration does not sit well with those who follow the world with nothing but a thirst for public entertainment.      This has been the prevailing public opinion about the space shuttle for the past twenty years.  It is true that the system has been a disappointment in some areas--especially from an economic viewpoint.       Still, though, people tend to forget the strong points of the program.  If we are to expand into space permanently, progress can't come in leaps and bounds, like it did during the Apollo days.  The space shuttle has taught us the value of steady, step-by-step progress and should not be taken lightly.