Quote:
Originally Posted by charles brough
My impression is that the other programs are far behind, but I suspect "they" are catching up fast.........I am curious as to what you believe would happen to the European space effort if the US had another failure of a space launch filled with people? I doubt that it would slow the Asian effort, but it seems to me it would have a major, negative effect on the European progrem you mention.
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The European programs have always been much more modest in comparison and much more oriented towards the science. The US program grew out of cold war tensions and always had a strong military context. The science kind of bolted on, almost as an afterthought and only because of the dedicated efforts of those who wanted to make it happen.
The Europeans have placed their program within a broader approach to science in general. Because they have focused on the science their involvement in manned flight has been incidental and inconsequential. Therefore, I believe a further Challenger/Columbia type tragedy would have no effect on the European program at all, because it is primarily - at this stage - an unmanned, scientific effort. I believe and hope it will continue to grow at a sensible pace until the technology allows for an affordable manned presence in space, separate from our involvement with the ISS. The latter I consider to be a marvellous symbol that should never have been built - much like the shuttle.
This all sounds very negative about the NASA and the US program, so for balance I should say that I spent the sixties waiting patiently from JFKs announcement till Armstrong and Aldrin set foot on the moon. I was enthused by the imagination of the goal and in awe of its achievement.
Then somehow, perhaps because of Vietnam, or Tricky Dicky, the US seemed to lose its way and the I think the grander space program became lost at that point. The unmanned program continues to be brilliant - apart from the odd units conversion error in the vicintiy of Mars.
This is not a very cohesive post, but I trust you get my drift.
