More Americans are figuring out the strong similarity between the space shuttle and the 1981 Chevy Caprice that Grandpa drives: both may be "unsafe at any speed"...
A growing number of Americans are believing that the space shuttle program shouldn't just be temporarily grounded, but instead put out to the boneyard.
(CBS) As the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery prepared for a history-making repair of its spacecraft – fixing the exterior of a shuttle while in orbit - Americans have become more concerned about the costs and risks of the Shuttle program. While a majority still thinks the Space Shuttle is worth continuing, the program receives its lowest level of support in this poll since CBS News started asking about it in 1986. In addition, the public gives the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) its lowest job rating to date. It should be noted that this poll was conducted before the repair of Discovery took place.
59% thinks the Space Shuttle is worth continuing despite the costs and risks involved; 36% say it is not. In February 2003, shortly after the Columbia Shuttle disaster, 75% supported the shuttle program, as did eight in 10 after the Challenger explosion in 1986.
Okay, look. I support sensible exploration and exploitation of space just as much as the next person. But the first shuttle went up in 1981. All the airframes in use date pretty much from that period. Well, after awhile, the old dog just won't hunt no matter how much steak you feed it. For crying out loud, astronaut Steve Robinson (Robinson. Anybody else find any Space Family Robinson irony here? And remember, they were Lost in space) barely made it back into the airlock before they told him he needed to get ready to go out again. Seems one of the cockpit windows had burst a seam. Whoops. Better get the roll of duct tape out again. At this rate, the biggest "must have" on the next mission might be a gallon tub of Bondo.
We're now at the situation of constantly replacing parts. Million dollar parts. And guessing which ones won't break down. The engineers actually said they were surprised by the heat tile fabric problem because they had spent all their time on the "big ticket" items. That's like ending up stranded in the Mojave desert in your 1981 Chevy Caprice wagon because you replaced the transmission but didn't bother with the water pump. That actually happened to me once, in mid July with a couple toddlers in the car. My wife has never let me forget it.
If we don't get this shuttle home, the world will never let NASA forget it either. If we do get her home, we should give her an honorable retirement and find a new vehicle to ride to Mars.
This dog don't fly.
Joe Pursch is heard nightly on AM 710 KFIA from 5-7PM PST, streamed live on the Internet at www.kfia.com .
You can contact him at realtalk@kfia.com .
