Space: A Look At The Next 25 Years

The nation’s space program is at a major crossroads. Critics contend that it is in disarray with a space shuttle that does not fly as often as had been expected and a number of highly visible projects that have been troubled by nagging problems. Boosters of the space program, however, point to a wide range of projects that have returned significant scientific findings, including unmanned space probes to other planets in the solar system. As the nation grapples with its space agenda, the exploration of space moves ahead on many fronts. These are some of the most important.

1. Space Station Freedom

The nation’s most ambitious space project since the Apollo moon program has become embroiled in controversy. More than $5 billion has already been spent in planning and engineering for the international space station, but doubts persist among some members of Congress, and even the scientists who are to use the station, over whether it would be worth the cost.

NASA says the station would cost about $30 billion, but the federal General Accounting Office says the cost of building the station and staffing it for three decades would run around $118 billion.

The White House is fighting to keep the station, and if Congress decides to go ahead with the ambitious project, the first crews could move aboard by about the end of this century. Up to four astronauts would inhabit the station, studying the effects of weightlessness on humans and carrying out research in a zero-gravity environment.

2. Space Shuttle

The nation’s shuttle fleet is now back to full strength with the newest shuttle, Endeavour, ready to replace the Challenger, which was destroyed in the worst tragedy in the history of space exploration. Astronauts have completed 41 shuttle missions, and the vehicle has demonstrated it versatility and flight worthiness.

However, NASA has fallen far below the number of launches that had been expected, and the shuttle failed to reach its primary goal of reducing the cost of placing humans and materials in low Earth orbit. NASA has estimated the cost per mission at around $250 million, a figure many critics believe is far below the actual cost, and the agency has been limited to around seven or eight flights per year instead of the anticipated 60.

3. Hubble Space Telescope

The $1.5-billion orbiting telescope was to have extended human vision to the edge of the universe, but it was launched with a flawed optical system that has severly limited its usefulness. The telescope has been able to carry out some research, but its primary mirror was ground wrong-a fact that was not discovered until after the Hubble was launched, and thus the telescope is unable to study dim objects.

4. Gamma Ray Observatory

Despite the problems with Hubble, NASA proceeded with its “Great Observatories” program, and earlier this year the second of four orbiting observatories was launched from the space shuttle. This observatory, called GRO, has experienced no serious problems and is now sending back astronomical data that will permit scientists to study the most violent events in the universe. Gamma rays are emitted by such things as exploding stars, which can only be studied from space.

5. Galileo Spacecraft

The launch of this Jupiter probe was delayed so many times that project scientists were beginning to think they were jinxed. Recent events have left them with no reason to doubt that.

Galileo is now speeding across the solar system at 51,000 miles per hour. Unfortunately, Galileo’s main antenna failed to open, and unless the problem can be corrected, it will not be able to send back most of the data it collects.

6. Magellan Spacecraft

Comparatively speaking, the Magellan Venus Radar Mapper has been a snap. The few problems that the spacecraft has encountered during its two-year photographic expedition to Venus have not prevented the spacecraft from mapping nearly the entire surface of the planet. The Magellan spacecraft, flying around Venus in a polar orbit, is now mapping the planet for the second time. Magellan uses radar to pierce through the dense clouds that hide the surface of Venus, and the echo is used to create images of the ground.

By the time the mission ends, scientists expect to create three-dimensional views of Venus, a planet that started out like the Earth but evolved into a barren body that is so hot that lead on its surface would melt.

Source: National Aeronauties and Space Administration