Guest Blog The End of the Apollo Era Finally | SpaceNews.com

Guest Blog The End of the Apollo Era Finally | SpaceNews.com

A well reasoned article by one of the most prominent space policy analysts.  My concern is that, while Prof. Logsdon argues that this new policy allows for a shift in thinking away from the Apollo era mindset, the lack of a specific time deadline and general destination of beyond low earth orbit will force NASA to tread political water for the next two presidential election cycles.  At the very minimum this new approach outlined by President Obama will result in a heavy lift rocket to no where as other nations formulate and execute a space strategy central to their economic growth and rise on the international stage.

I agree that  NASA must move forward into the modern age, but how exactly do you recruit the best and brightest young individuals to work for human space flight when no one can clearly articulate where NASA is going?  Phase out the Apollo era culture and NASA will be left with the science and aviation mission directorates because those are the only divisions advancing the frontiers of space and aviation with any sort of clarity.  NASA Education and the Administrator are investing heavily this summer in the President's Summer of Innovation geared toward inspiring and cultivating a love for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in middle school children.  The agency's education goal is then that the students become part of the NASA pipeline and eventually return to work at NASA.  While this appears to be a sound recruiting strategy.  Unfortunately, I know few young professionals who would be excited by a recruiting campaign that boiled down isn't much more than: Come work for us! We don't know where we are going, we don't know how we are going to get there, and weren't not sure if we will get the money to get there once we are told where there is.  This really is a great place to work and look at all the cool stuff we accomplished 40 years ago that no one else has done.  Any takers?  Any one jumping at the chance to sign up and be the future of human space flight at NASA?

I agree with Professor Logsdon.  It is indeed time to move beyond Apollo.  The days of the mighty Saturn V are long gone.  A new generation must indeed write a new chapter for the United States in space.  I only wonder if after the 12 year supposed restart how will the support which is currently a mile wide an an inch deep at best have eroded even more?  In that 12 years, will we wait for a new country to assume the competitive role played by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and dictate where we are headed and for what purpose?  We do need JFK-like leadership to articulate a clear and convincing vision, unfortunately if the past 47 years of presidential space leadership are any indication we will be waiting for quite a while longer.