Shuttle’s Value to Space Program

In his column (Opinion, Nov. 29) on America’s space program, Gregg Easterbrook’s tired anti-space shuttle, anti-manned space flight argument serves neither the public’s interest nor the interest of informed public debate.

Easterbrook is so eager to mothball the shuttle that he is apparently blind to the contribution it continues to make to America’s space program; nor does he acknowledge the technical and budgetary challenges of replacing the orbiter. He fails to point out that a replacement system would take 10 to 15 years to develop, with no guarantee that the cost to operate that system would be significantly, if at all, less than for the shuttle.

Certainly the shuttle must someday be replaced. At this time, however, it remains a relatively young, robust and versatile space system serving as an effective launch vehicle and as an on-orbit science laboratory. In addition, the manned shuttle often has demonstrated the unmatched capability to retrieve valuable data-laden satellites and return them to Earth. It is a unique national asset and can be modified with new technologies and systems to further enhance its reliability, safety and performance well within the bounds of the tight budgets with which we are faced.

Consider these facts:

* The space shuttle has launched more than 41% of all the mass the U.S. has launched to orbit since the beginning of the Space Age, while accounting for only 4% of all U.S. space launches.

* The shuttle fleet has flown more than 665 major attached payloads/experiments including spacecraft that have provided invaluable new insights about space and how to operate more effectively there.

* The presence of humans in space aboard the shuttle has enabled at least seven malfunctioning spacecraft to achieve mission successes that could not have been accomplished by other means.

* Furthermore, the shuttle is the most reliable space transportation system in the world.

Frankly, to use Easterbrook’s words, the only thing about the shuttle that may “charitably be described as nutty” is his crusade to promote the premature retirement of a system that will remain integral to U.S. leadership in space for years to come.

SAM F. IACOBELLIS

Executive Vice President

Rockwell International

Seal Beach