A major setback for space program

By John Buchel

State Editor

Addressing the nation just hours after the Columbia burned at 200,000 feet above Texas Saturday, President George W. Bush was firm on the continuation and necessity of the space program.

“In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of Earth,” Bush said.

The accident raises questions as to how government and NASA officials will deal with the future of the space-exploration program in light of the tragedy.

Robert Paulos, executive director of the University of Wisconsin’s Space Science and Engineering Center, said officials could become cautious.

“I think we could see a flight to get the astronauts off the space station and maybe a decrease in shuttle flights,” Paulos said. “We have astronauts on the space station, and those guys need to come back at some time.”

Paulos said the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on launch in 1986 caused trepidation with officials, because people had never expected such a tragedy. Paulos also said after the success of NASA’s Apollo mission, the public never expected anything to go wrong in space travel.

Paulos said NASA was nervous about shuttle flights after the Challenger explosion, and there wasn’t another flight for 32 months. Congresspersons have come out as saying they would like to get the program back on its feet in a shorter time after this tragedy.

Jonathan Beeton, spokesman for U.S. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin said Baldwin feels “that always after a tragedy like this, our nation rises to the occasion.”

Beeton said Baldwin and the rest of Congress would obviously want to make astronauts’ safety paramount in continued shuttle missions, and Baldwin feels very strongly about continuing space exploration for the furthering of mankind and also for countless technological benefits of the space program. Paulos said a delay in the shuttle program affects many areas of science, including programs currently underway at UW’s Space Science and Engineering Center.

Gov. Jim Doyle ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the memories of the lost astronauts, in particular Dr. Laurel Clark, whom Doyle called “a true daughter of Wisconsin.”

“Our country’s commitment to the future of an even stronger space program is the best way to honor the memories of those we have lost,” Doyle said.

NASA is beginning its investigation into what exactly went wrong during Columbia’s re-entry, but many have already pointed to the fact that the Columbia had been in service for 22 years.

Paulos said while the shuttle might be older than many students at UW, a vehicle of that age is typical in the aerospace industry.

“A lot of the planes you get on were made in the ’60s,” Paulos said, adding that airliners’ and space shuttles’ ages refer to the body structure, with virtually every other component being renovated regularly.

Paulos echoed the president’s sentiment about the routine in modern space travel.

“I’m in the business, and unless a project I’ve worked on is involved, I usually don’t pay close attention to the shuttle program,” Paulos said. “When was the last time you sat around the television and watched a shuttle launch? Regardless, these guys do face tremendous risk in the name of science.”