Space

I have seen/heard from friends, news shows, and print media the quesion of our need to be in space. The main complaint being that it is a terrible waste of money to continue the space program. This latest mishap with the foam chunk that fell off on the Discovery launch and the subsequent grounding of future launches only strengthens their belief in this notion. Also, that the Space Station is a complete waste of time.

I, personally, believe that the space program is not only a needed program, but a necessary one. Think about this example, without the benefits of the space program, there would be no velcro. Think of all of the uses of this product in today's world. Also, think of the medicines, film materials, and near-perfect crystals developed from space flights.

However, I think that we should be back on the moon by now. It has been almost 30 years since we first went to the moon. This floating around our planet is getting a little old. Let's try to do something new.

As for the foam coming off of the fuel booster, I say, "Look at all of the previous missions on the shuttle. In most of those flights, foam has come off from somewhere. We lost one shuttle to foam. The astronauts all know the dangers of flying into space, yet there is a mile long line to be on the next mission."

Let the astronauts fly. Keep pushing the boundries. Quit crying about what could happen.