Astronauts Speak Out
The Astronauts Speak Out
No group of people understand the profound loss Obama's policy represents more than the astronauts themselves and some key NASA officials. Hear what they had to say:
Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, in a statement released on Jan. 27, 2010, stated that Obama's proposal to end manned space flight was "even worse" than President Nixon's ending of the Apollo program, which Griffin characterized as "one of the most significant, yet strategically bankrupt, decisions in human history." At least Nixon "left us with the Space Shuttle," Griffin said. The Obama program "leaves NASA and the nation with no program, no plan, and no commitment to any human spaceflight program beyond that of today.... The president has chosen to recommend that the nation abandon its leadership on the space frontier."
On Feb. 2, 2010, Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan denounced Obama's "space program to nowhere." Cernan, the last man to walk on the Moon, said, "We have a responsibility to our country to inspire our kids to do bigger and better and greater things. "He [Obama] is somehow unwilling to invest in the future of this country.... I won't be here in 20, 30, 40 years from now, but my grandkids will. I want them to have the country I had. I want something better for them."
On Feb. 15, 2010, Scott Carpenter (Mercury), Gene Cernan (Gemini and Apollo), and Charlie Duke (Apollo) wrote an open letter to all Americans, to help rally opposition to Obama's attempt to kill NASA's manned space program:
"Dear Mr. & Mrs. America:
"There has never been, and likely never will be, another government program that expedites technological innovation so much as the U.S. space program. There is not another program that has so successfully rallied a nation, inspired youngsters toward academic achievement or established the U.S. as the world leader in technology.
"The manned space program has, in particular, been a source of our nation's strength and character. But an Achilles heel in the form of our country's executive branch threatens a mortal wound. Under the Obama 2011 budget, the U.S. will no longer ferry humans into space—no Moon, no Mars. The source of so much of America's inspiration and spirit, the impetus for so much discovery, technology and imagination, is in jeopardy. The demise of America's space program is just another step in the dismantling of our nation.
"Where's the vision put so eloquently in 1962 when President Kennedy said, 'serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.' President Kennedy delivered a vision to the American public that demanded courage, imagination and follow-through....
"We are the only country to ever conquer the high ground, the moon.... The national security implications are starkly real. From the high ground, foreign governments will have greater access to monitor U.S. technology assets in Earth orbit. Whoever controls the high ground becomes the world's leader in technology.
"We ask you to join those members of Congress who have the fortitude and courage to embrace the vision that has become part of our nation's signature and who are advocates of returning to the moon and maintaining America's leadership role in the exploration of space."
Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham, in an op-ed in the Feb. 27, 2010 Houston Chronicle, wrote: "Except in wartime, there has never been another government program that produced as much technological innovation as the U.S. space program, and there likely never will be...." Cunninghman juxtaposed the ending of Constellation to the proposed "increased spending on the discredited global warming hypocrisy."
"Have we really degenerated as a country to the point where we can no longer fund our own exploration? Did we spend $460 billion becoming pre-eminent in space, only to stupidly surrender it?"
On April 12, 2010, nineteen astronauts, whose service spanned from the early 1960s Mercury program to the Space Shuttle, joined by former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, legendary flight director Gene Kranz, and Apollo-era director of the Johnson Space Center Chris Kraft, sent a letter to President Obama, expressing their outrage at the attempt to shut down manned space exploration, as the nation's space program is "reduced to mediocrity."
"For those of us who have accepted the risk and dedicated a portion of our lives to the exploration of outer space, this is a terrible decision. America's greatness lies in her people: she will always have men and women willing to ride rockets into the heavens.
"Too many men and women have worked too hard and sacrificed too much to achieve America's preeminence in space, only to see that effort needlessly thrown away.... This is not the time to abandon the promise of the space frontier for a lack of will or an unwillingness to pay the price."
from Killing the Future. LaRouche.com
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