The Costs of Reaching for the Stars

THE COSTS OF REACHING FOR THE STARS

Guest opinion submitted by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo

Many of us in Idaho are descendents of pioneers who pushed west into what was then unknown territory.  Moving west was dangerous; even everyday activities were perilous and survival from year to year was often in question.  Many didn't make it.  But as we all know, these people settled the West, conquered the then unknown, and pushed the limits of the human experience.  Today we are living in the world they helped create.

While the tools and technologies of exploration have changed, the pioneer spirit that pushes us to explore remains the same. Certainly, there were those who told westbound pioneers that life would be safer, more pleasant, and profitable at home, and there was no need to undertake such a dangerous endeavor.  But the spirit of exploration could not be restrained and, in spite of great risk, they pushed outward. We continue to explore and at times, just like those early pioneers, we are asked to pay a very high price.

We paid that price when the space shuttle Columbia exploded during its approach to land in Florida.  Seven individuals, each of whom was uniquely impressive in their own right, were killed.  The loss to all Americans is personal and tragic. The cause of the explosion will be under investigation, a long and laborious process. Accident specialists from the National Transportation Safety Board, and scientists and engineers from the NASA will be reviewing and analyzing the wreckage and the computer data in order to find an answer.  It will be a long process, but one that will ultimately give us the answers we need to move forward.

For several years, I have been working with NASA to schedule a space shuttle flight for Idaho's own Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan. Barbara's flight was scheduled for November of this year, and I was looking forward to watching that launch. Now with all scheduled flights understandably on hold, she will once again be waiting. When I have talked with Barbara about the dangers associated with space exploration, I can see that she, like all astronauts, understands them and accepts them fully. She is truly an educator, a hero and an example to our nation. She knows that her chosen role brings inherent rewards and risks, and she believes that the rewards are worth the risks. We cannot ask more from our astronauts, and we owe them a tremendous debt for the advances that have come in medicine, science, and technology due to the space program.

We must remember that exploring space is never routine.  It is a very dangerous business, and while accidents are very infrequent, they do happen. In 1967, Apollo One was undergoing tests on the launch pad when suddenly it burst into flames, killing three astronauts. This was a terrible loss that shook the nation, and the first disaster associated with the space program. It was nearly two years before another launch went up.  Nineteen years later in 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch, killing all seven crew members aboard. Such tragedies are not limited to the U.S. program. The Russians, who have long had their own space program, have had their share of losses as well.

These losses were tragic and upsetting. However, our exploration of space and our inherently American belief in the future has fortified us to see beyond the tragedies.   In 1986, President Ronald Reagan, speaking to the nation following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger said, "The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted, it belongs to the brave.  The shuttle crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.  They were pioneers." President Reagan understood that as tragic as the loss was we needed to continue to reach for the stars.  To do anything else would defy our very human nature.  It is that very spirit that President Bush captured so well when he said that our exploration of space will continue.  These seven brave astronauts, like the pioneers who faced the unknown years ago, would expect no less of those that follow them.