It’s a shame what has happened to our space program. Undoubtably there’s political corruption and waste that contributed to the massive shuttle budget. That being said, I wish most of the money we spend on entitlement programs went instead to the space program. We should be on Mars by now.
I’m a 20-year pilot in the US Army. Years ago I went through the process of applying to be an astronaut. It’s tough for us to get in as we’re not fast-mover aviators like Navy and AF. I knew I had about a 1% chance of being accepted. My wife an I would joke that “we” were the perfect candidate if we could combine ourselves. She’s the Johns Hopkins engineer with perfect grades but scared of heights, I was the military test pilot with combat experience.
I’ll never forget watching the Challenger disaster live as it happened. I was 15 watching in a school assembly. Brutal. Also remember Reagan’s incredible speech:
“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.”
Still brings tears to my eyes 30 years later.
I fully agree.
I remember the "Why are we spending all that money in space when we have problems right here at home?" crowd.
Well, if we had spent more in space, we'd have more in space. But instead we spent it here and now we have more problems here.
Funny how that worked.