My Take On "The Big Week" In US Spaceflight

It's been an interesting week for the US space program. First, the new budget called for a cancellation of the Constellation Program. This is the program aiming to replace the space shuttle with a space capsule for crew transportation and a new heavy-lift rocket for spacecraft to support missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

If I understand the new budget correctly, replacing Constellation will be a series of programs aiming to offload crew and supply launches to private companies while NASA works on advanced technologies and robotic missions. Could it be that through commercialization the US can realize the benefits in the video below?...

(video from National Space Society)

Last night (February 6) was the first launch attempt of mission STS-130 to the International Space Station. Whatever frustrations or concerns staff at the Kennedy Space Center had about the announcement had to be put aside to safely launch a crew from Pad 39A. Unfortunately due to low clouds the launch had to be postponed.

I was priveledged to be invited to watch the launch from the closest any non-staff member can get. I was about 3 miles away from the launch pad. It was a very cold 45 degrees and not spending too much time in cold weather anymore I forgot how annyoing frozen ear lobes can be. I did bring a video and still camera, but between gusts of wind and focusing in on a 3 mile target that "million dollar shot" proved difficult without a tripod. (Note to self, remember tripod when given rare opportunity to photograph last night launch of the US Space Shuttle.)

For now, you can enjoy this picture from Orlando Sentinel photographer Red Huber who took this shot around 9 p.m. of Endeavour on launch pad 39A. This is the "million dollar shot" I was trying to get with great difficulty last night:

(By the way, a shout-out to my brother-in-law for lending me his high-quality photo gear. Too bad I'm not skilled in quality picture taking.)

Even though the launch was scrubbed I enjoyed my time with the off-duty staff that were there to watch along with the rest of us. They are true professionals. They didn't have any answers about the details of the future, but you could appreciate their sincere dedication to keep flying out the rest of the missions regardless of the uncertainly. I really enjoyed the spirit of community last night. People would start chatting with strangers about mission patches on their jackets. We would talk about favorite astronauts, spacecraft, etc. Yes, roll your eyes and call us space geeks but "Peace, Love, and Rockets to you man".

There has been a lot of debate going on about if the changes the budget proposes are good or bad. Honestly, who knows. I'm still trying to asses it for myself. This might be the best thing or the worst thing for the US space program. One thing I'm learning as I'm getting older is the power of relationships and how important people are. My hope is that no matter what happens the talented folks who go out of their way to make the future possible are taken care of.

I understand we're not all fans of spaceflight. We all have our passion for one thing or another in life, but there's nothing like a group of people who work well and are passionate about what theydo. Breaking that up would be a loss for the US. I hope we can all agree on that.

You can change the venue, mission, or target, but don't break up winning teams.