America Stalls Space Age

            This morning, shuttle Atlantis made its final landing. The last mission which began on July 8^th, was a success, they brought a years worth of supplies to the international space station. As this mission comes to end, it marks the end of the space program that has been in existence for over 50 years.

            Why is this happening? The space program has led to many accomplishments for the United States. Has been a breeding ground for ingenuity and has been home to some of the brightest American minds since its creation. So why are we absolving the program, in a time when job creation is at the forefront of the agenda, the space programs dissolution will result in the destruction of 11,000 jobs.

            NASA’s space program does not need to be destroyed, other countries are leap-frogging America in what used to be our greatest accomplishment. America needs the space program more than ever, innovation has always been Americas cornerstone, the next big idea is just around the corner. Not only will we be losing years of research and experience, but the fact that the private sector is not even close to taking over the program just makes the move seem unjustifiable. It would be very different if the private sector was ready to take over the space program but it is as much as ten years away. Can you imagine what could be done in ten years? Great things from; new technologies or cure to diseases, who knows what else lies in space, it is our job to find out. And as we leave the exploration to others, America will once again have to play catch-up once it realizes its mistakes.

            America should not be stopping space age research, as technologies develop, so must space related research. This avenue to the unknown could someday prove to be one of the biggest industries. All in all the space program is an American legacy, to lose it will be truly detrimental to the future of the space age and will sooner or later hurt America economically. It has always proved that maintaining programs is always cheaper than recreating them and that is the mess that will wait for us in the future.