Yahoo! News asked its readers and contributors to share their memories of the space shuttle program as it nears its end in July. Below is a story from a contributor.
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Intellectually, I am certain that it is time to retire the space shuttles from active service. We need to focus on the future instead of continuing to fly outdated vehicles into orbit. Emotionally, however, I have to say I have mixed feelings about the end of the space shuttle era.
[Related: Former NASA Chief of Staff Explains Why It's Time to Retire the Space Shuttle]
I remember the sense of wonder and excitement that I felt when a classmate in grammar school, knowing my interest in the space program, handed me the latest edition of Scholastic Magazine that featured and article about a planned reusable space shuttle in development by NASA. By the popular demand of thousands of Star Trek fans, the article said, NASA had to change the name of one of the early test shuttles to Enterprise.
The idea of a reusable launch vehicle that could glide to a runway landing seemed to me at the time to bring us one giant leap closer to making space travel a reality for the average person. Today, as the last space shuttle flight prepares to launch, that vision is even closer to reality. George Whitesides, President and CEO of Virgin Galactic told me he expects to be sending paying passengers to the edge of space next year.
I also remember watching the space shuttle Challenger as it seemed to disappear in forked trail of smoke. As I watched, I hoped that the smoke was caused by the jettisoning of malfunctioning booster rockets and that the shuttle itself would reappear and perhaps proceed to an emergency landing. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case and seven brave souls lost their lives on January 28, 1986.
[Related: Why Do So Many Remember Exactly Where They Were When the Challenger Exploded?]
The return to space after Challenger demonstrated that we, as a nation, could overcome adversity, learn from our mistakes, and push forward toward our goals. It also taught me that where much is at stake, one must use an abundance of care to make sure that things go the way one expects them to go.
[Related: Space Shuttle Rocket Scientist Discusses the Return to Space Effort]
Moving forward after the space shuttle, my hope is that we can develop safer and more cost-efficient launch and recovery vehicles, freeing resources for those grander goals that represent the next steps in our journey. With private companies beginning to find profit in space travel, we are once again ready to take one more giant leap into a future of nearly limitless possibilities.
[Related: Three Big Goals for NASA to Inspire a New Generations of Students]
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Brad Sylvester writes about the space program for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Watching the Apollo missions through the static on a small black and white television sparked a lifelong interest in the space sciences for him. Since then, he has spent 40 years watching improvements in the technologies of space travel and our understanding of the universe unfold.
