goodbye luna
Remembering the end of Apollo
Exactly thirty years ago, Apollo 17's Lunar Module Challenger lifted off from Taurus-Littrow, a dark plain approximately 500 kilometers north of Tranquility Base. The departure of Apollo 17 marked the end of the Golden Age of American spaceflight, as Apollo flights 18 - 20 were abandonded due to waning public interest in the missions. Richard Nixon had announced earlier that year the development of the space shuttle program, and by December much of NASA's resources were devoted to shuttle-related projects. For the rest of the 1970s, NASA's manned missions primarily served as political demonstrations that bizarrely parodied Soviet efforts in space, including an Apollo-Soyuz joint mission and a manned space station hastily constructed from a section of a Saturn V rocket.
The years following the end of the Apollo program did not, as was expected, include greater NASA successes. There has been no manned Mars mission, and there are currently no plans for one. Space flight is no longer seen as a great adventure, at least in the United States. American astronauts are still flying the three decade old space shuttle, now to a new space station of questionable scientific worth. The Russian program relies on even older technology, and essentially has become a glorified taxi service. On the other hand, the Chinese will launch their first manned space flight soon and plan to land a man on the moon by 2010.
The next great era of space flight will require renewed creative spirit and technological innovation - something, sadly, NASA seems to have forsaken. Consequently, private industry has begun to take a greater position in spacecraft deployment. Last month, TransOrbital signed an agreement with ISC Kosmotras to develop and launch three lunar missions onboard Kosmotras's converted SS-18 missiles. And, for a mere $2500 TransOrbital will deliver your business card or memento to the Moon!
14.12.2002 © ljr