Return to Flight

The cranes, catwalks and mobile platform at Cape Canaveral were busy once again. The Shuttle Discovery launched , marking the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster of 2003. It was NASA's first attempt to demonstrate that it had fixed the problems that caused Columbia's flight to end in disaster. If the Discovery mission hits a snag or ends in failure like Columbia did, the shuttle program is most likely doomed. NASA only has three spacecraft left so this mission can not fail. At stake are not only the lives of the astronauts but also America's pride in it's technology, the fate of the US space program and the future of space exploration itself.
There is an air of real pourpose at NASA, a desire to convince people like me that all the technical problems have been over come. The can do spirit that caught my imagination back in the 60's for the Moon shots is alive and well once again. NASA needs this mission to work from lift off to touch down. Only the shuttle has the capacity to carry into orbit the building blocks for the International Space Station. NASA must get that task over and done with if it is to ever began the glamorous role of heading beyond orbit to the Moon and a landing on Mars.
When the shuttle lifted off into the clear blue Florida sky I didn't know whether to say hello or goodbye. NASA will never build something like the shuttle again. Etch it in your memory! In a couple of years this rocket with wings will be as yesterday as cars with fins.