Quickly now, name the crew members of the space shuttle Atlantis. It’s a sad commentary on current society that the names of these four heroes aren’t as familiar as, say, the winners of “American Idol” or “Dancing With the Stars.” But in another way, their lack of fame demonstrates how successful America’s space shuttle program became over 30 years. We’ve taken it for granted to that extent; after 135 missions, the heroes list is too long to memorize.
For the record, the Atlantis crew includes Commander Christopher Ferguson, co-pilot Douglas Hurley, Rex Walheim and Sandra Magnus. Why are there only four and not the usual shuttle crew of six or seven? Well, the answer elicits more sadness among space-travel aficionados. It’s to meet the limited capacity of the Russian Soyuz capsule, which would be used if the crew cannot use the Atlantis to leave the International Space Station. That’s because there will be no more shuttle flights. Or, as Ferguson told launch director Mike Leinbach Friday morning, “Let’s light this fire one more time, Mike, and witness this great nation at its best.”
The last six words in that command are what Americans should remember most about the space shuttle program. It was this great nation at its best. Certainly not perfection, mind you. Indeed, 14 astronauts were killed in two shuttle disasters: the Challenger in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003. But our great nation at its best, maximizing the powerful blend of innovation and exploration, flexing the aggregate of science and valor.
The political-scientific funding debate will rage on for many years, likely unresolved. But already we know no astronaut will leave American soil for three to five years. And however you feel about the $196 billion spent on the entire space shuttle program (an average of $1.45 billion per flight), this lapse in U.S. space exploration elicits melancholy at best, and perhaps is even depressing. So we understand why former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin complained that “for us to abandon that in favor of nothing is a mistake of strategic proportions.”