Rockets, Math, and Science

The shuttle needs to be replaced. From the beginning it's been a Frankenstein contraption that was built to serve multiple needs and make work for various constituencies.

But today it's 30 years old. And it seems like the main accomplishment for each launch from now on will simply be getting the thing off the ground and back safely. It's a triumph of management, process control, and engineering. I'm not disparaging the necessity of these pursuits - but they aren't serving any meaningful goals with regards to science or exploration.

And I am huge space buff, mind you. I'm familiar with all of the 'why' arguments, about how exploration is expensive, or we should fix our planet first, blah blah blah. I'm not going to argue it. People enter that debate with the certainty of their positions, and minds are rarely changed. But I have discovered that the majority of people believe that exploration - gradually moving away from our home rock - seems right on some pre-conscious level.

We just need a better way to get up there. We need to constantly improve in this area. And it would be nice if it came with a double-barreled infusion into science and engineering at the secondary and university levels, like they did when Eisenhower started NASA. Enough American kids are graduating that want to "go into film" or be an R&B star - and meanwhile the universities in India and China are cracking out hundreds of thousands of world-class engineers.

There is a plan in place, and it enjoys bipartisan support; But we need follow-through - especially the sorely-needed emphasis on education.