President Obama, Congress and NASA are currently planning out how man will once again set foot on worlds not our own. The current plan laid out by President Obama has been met with staunch criticism from the public, former NASA officials and astronauts. While others believe that this is the best way to move forward in the new age of budget constraints and more pressing needs at home. So what's the answer?
Was the Cancelation of the Constellation Program the Right Move?
Nothing has been more controversial than the President's plan to cancel the Constellation Program. The program was meant to design new heavy payload rockets to lift men and material into low-Earth-orbit (LEO) and beyond. It was meant to simultaneously replace the aging Space Shuttle fleet, as well as carry astronauts to asteroids, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The problem is that the Constellation program is over budget and behind schedule. With the Shuttle fleet set to retire at the end of 2010, there is currently no replacement. In either case we were going to have to rely on other nations (most likely the Russians) to take U.S. astronauts into space so that we could meet our obligations to the International Space Station, which is more important now that the life of the ISS has been extended beyond 2020. So was the Constellation Program ever going to be the answer?
The issue ultimately boils down to money. Is it a priority for our nation to fund the manned space flight program, and, if so, at what level? President Obama announced a $6 billion increase in the NASA budget over 6 years. However, this is not enough to develop a completely new program. Proponents say that the new plan narrows the focus, making flight outside of LEO the priority and leaving LEO flight to be developed in the private sector -- essentially commercializing much of the space industry previously handled by NASA. Even so, the new plan is ambitious at best.
It is becoming clear that at least some elements of the Constellation Program will need to survive. Many in Congress are already pushing to have the heavy payload rockets, The Ares I and V, reinstated. And President Obama has come out in favor of revamping the Orion Crew Module to be used in some form with the ISS.
However, critics are calling for virtually all of the Constellation Program to be revived. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan, the first and last men to walk on the Moon, have both spoken out against the program's cancelation. Specifically, as Cernan pointed out, "The space program has never been an entitlement, it’s an investment in the future – an investment in technology, jobs, world respect and leadership, and perhaps most importantly in the inspiration and education of our youth. Those best and brightest minds at NASA and throughout the multitudes of private contractors, large and small, did not join the team to design windmills, but to live their dreams of once again taking us where no man has gone before. If this budget proposal becomes the law of the land, these technicians, engineers, scientists, a generation removed from Apollo, yet re-inspired by the prospect of going back to the moon and on to Mars, will be gone – where I don’t know – but gone."
The Bottom Line
Should the majority of the Constellation Program remain a memory the job loses are going to be substantial, as thousands of scientists, engineers, administrators and staff would no longer be needed. There are already significant loses being projected when the Shuttle program comes to a close. And, as clearly evidenced from Cernan's comments, the significant drain of skill and intellect would be detrimental to the U.S. space program. The consequence of which is that other nations would step in and take over our role in the space exploration community. In short, we would no longer be the leader in space exploration.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the new plan is that there doesn't appear to be any clear vision. Or, more accurately, there are some goals and benchmarks that have been laid out, but no concept of how to meet them. This is evidenced by the fact that aspects of the Constellation Program are continually being added back into the budget, while the outlook for the next three decades is in a state of constant flux.
It seems that the money is going to be spent either now or later. The Constellation Program is expensive, but the technology being developed will play a key role in the future of manned space flight. Not to mention that it may ultimately be cheaper in the long run, then having to play catch-up a decade or two down the road. Besides, as we saw with the Apollo program, the technology developed now will pay huge dividends down the road. America can't afford to be passed as the world leader in space exploration. The time, energy and money that we have spent getting to this point need not be wasted. It is worth the investment now to realize the benefits of a sustainable manned space flight program.
