Reflecting on the Shuttle and Looking to the Future

Today we mark the end of the Space Shuttle era with the early morning arrival of the STS-135 mission aboard OV-104, the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I'm not sad to see the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the end of the program. The vehicles were a engineering feat by 1970's standards, and have been successfully modernized as best as possible. However the Shuttle Transportation System is a heavy, complex and dated system. As an engineer I am always seeking the most efficient, leanest way to accomplish a stated goal. Today, I am left with a deep sadness that there is no immediate successor to the crown.  We have had the capability to create a better, leaner system for years. Advances in computing, engineering, fabrication and materials have given us capabilities that would spin the heads of the folks at Rockwell in the 70's. Capability is not the issue. Our national will to act on ambitious projects is the element that is missing. It has been slowly eroded away over the years by government, contractors and poor marketing of the benefits of space exploration.  I am saddened by the fact that a brilliant and dedicated workforce is now without a project. I'm saddened that we have very little opportunity utilize those considerable skills that have been honed by years of successful launch and recovery of perhaps the most complicated device ever built by man. Private industry is making attempts to apply a commercial model to space transport. It's a tough business to find financial success in as an industry like this. I wish these intrepid entrepreneurs all the best at realizing their dream, but I fear leaving the national priorities of space exploration to these entities. Today, as we bid farewell to the iconic Space Shuttle, I'm left feeling empty. I have no doubt that we will return to orbit, the moon and beyond. I wish we were already two or more generations of transport system ahead. Perhaps the Space Shuttle program is offering one last important service to the country as it heads to retirement. That service is getting the public talking about these issues and finding the national will to commit resources and continue a tradition of leadership in space exploration for the benefit of all mankind.