Kortepeter1

SeanKortepeter
March19th,2014
SpaceExploration
Interview2002
Whatshouldwedowithspace?Exploration!Itwillmeannothingunlesswedo
exploration.Explorationisreachingfarenoughouttherethatspacecanbecomeamirrorfor
who?Forhumanityandwhoyouare!Soyoufindoutwhatkindofuniverseyouvegot,whatyour
placeisinit.(StoryMusgraveOnline).
Space.Itsalwaysaboveus.Itmakesusrealizehowsmallweare.Ashumans,weare
naturallycurious.Whatsupthere?Canwereachit?Howcanwereachit?Overtheyearsbrave
astronautshaveventuredtothestars,andansweredsomeofthesequestions.Researchand
technologydevelopedfromandforspacehasmoldedthewaywelivetoday.Ithasrevolutionized
theworld.However,notallofthebraveexplorersthatgouphavemadeitbackinonepiece.
Exploringspaceisextremelydangerous.Everythingaboutspacetriestokillyou,andithas
successfullydonesoforsome.In1986theSpaceShuttleChallengerexplodedshortlyafter
launchduetoafailureinahydrogenfueltank.Againin2003,theShuttleColumbiaexplodedon
reentrybecauseofadamagedheatshield(IntroductiontoSpaceExploration:AtIssue.
Online).Thisbegsthequestions,Shouldwecontinueexploringspace?Isitreallyworthit?What
dowegetoutofit?Althoughspaceexplorationisdangerous,itiswellworthit.Theamazing
technologicaladvancementsthathavespawnedfromspaceexplorationaretremendous.
Scientistsandengineersareworkingallthetimetomakespacetravelsafer,sothatsomedayit
canbeavailableforcommercialuse.
Exploringspacebecamearealityduringthecoldwar,whentheUnitedStatesandthe
SovietUnionwereonthebrinkofwar.Theyweredevelopingmoreandmoredeadlyweaponsto

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fighteachotherwith.OneoftheseweaponsthatwerebeingdevelopedwereIntercontinental
BallisticMissiles,orICBMs.ICBMsweredevelopedtodoexactlywhattheirnamesays.They
were,Longrangerocketsthatwerecapableoftravelinghalfwayaroundtheworld("Introduction
toSpaceExploration"Online).Thesemissileswerewhatfirstgotthespaceprogramstarted.
Theywerethepredecessorstotherocketsthatwouldeventuallytakemantospace,and
eventually,tothemoon.ThespaceracestartedwhentheSovietUnionlaunchedSputnik.On
theeveningofOctober4,1957,theSovietUnionnewsserviceannouncedthatthenationhad
successfullylaunchedthefirsteverartificialsatelliteintoEarthorbit.ItwascalledSputnik,which
means"companion"inEnglish("IntroductiontoSpaceExploration"Online).Sputnikwasno
morethanabeepingballintheskythatcouldsendradiosignalsbacktoearth,butitterrified
Americans.Theythoughtthatiftheycouldsendsatellitesintospace,thentheymightalsobe
abletosendweaponstoo.Thus,theUSstartedtheirownspaceprogram.TheSovietUnionwas
alwaysonestepaheadoftheUS.Theyhadthefirstofalmosteverything,fromfirstanimalinto
space,tothefirstspacewalk.Then,OnMay25,1961,PresidentJohnF.Kennedyannounced
beforeaspecialjointsessionofCongressthedramaticandambitiousgoalofsendingan
AmericansafelytotheMoonbeforetheendofthedecade(NASAHistoryOnline).America
finallymadeittothemoonfirstwithApollo11.Afterthespacerace,theSovietUnion,theUS,
andmanyothercountriescametogethertobuildtheInternationalSpaceStation(ISS).This
spacestationisstillinservicetoday,conductingnumerousscientificexperimentsandproviding
manynewdiscoveriesaboutspace.
Spaceexplorationhassuchamassiveimpactonhowwelivetoday,especiallyon
transportationandcommunication.Mostpeopledontevenrealizehowmuchitaffectsus.For
example,Withoutthespaceindustryallthosedisheshangingoffwindowsills,receivingHD
televisionreceptionandprovidinghighspeedInternetconnectionineventhemostremote

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cornersoftheworld,wouldbejustsomanywoksgonewrong.(ORourkeObamasAsteroid
Online).Manyotherofthetechnologiesthatwehaveandtakeforgrantedtodaywouldntexist.
Transportationandcommunicationespeciallywouldbeextremelydifferent.GPSswouldntdo
morethanconstantlyblabrecalculatingeverytimeyoutriedtousethem.Airtrafficcontrolis
largelysatellitedependent.Absentsatellites,whenyou'resqueezedintothemiddleseatona
flighttoOrlando,youmightnotjustwishyouweredead,youmightgetthatway(ORourke
ObamasAsteroidOnline).Boatswouldstillbetheonlymethodoftranscontinental
transportation,andacarandaroadmapwouldbethefastestwayfromD.C.toSanFrancisco.
Incaseyougotlost,youronlyhopewouldbethatsomeonewoulddropbyandhelp.Youcouldnt
callsomeonebecauseyourcellphoneswouldntwork.Radioswouldonlyworkifsomeoneis
nearby.Youwouldalsolikelybehitbythattyphoonthatyoudidntknowaboutbecausethe
weatherpeoplecouldntusesatellitestopredictthemovementofweatherpatterns.
MeteorologicalpredictionswouldbeGrandpa'smutteringsabouthowhisjointsache.There
wouldhavebeennoforewarningofSuperstormSandy,andformermembersoftheJersey
ShorecastmighthavebeenblownallthewaytoCanandaigua.Whatanaturaldisasterthat
wouldhavebeenforNewYork'sFingerLakesregion(ORourkeObamasAsteroidOnline).
Thisisaprettybigchangefromthelifestylethatweveadaptedtotoday,isntit?Itisntjust
satellitesthatwouldaffectuseither,thereareothertechnologiesthatarebeingdevelopedin
space,likemedicines.
Unfortunately,itisextremelydifficultanddangeroustogotospace.Justthefrictionfrom
enteringandexitingtheatmosphereisenoughtotearaspacecraftapart.Thereisalsospace
debris,bitsofasteroidsandsatellitesthatareinorbitaroundtheearth.Spaceisalsoavacuum,
meaningthatsteppingoutwithoutaspacesuitonwillkillyou.Ontopofthat,itisalsoburninghot
andfreezingcoldinspaceatthesametime.Whatsevenworseisthatthereisradiationin

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space,whichisthemainreasonwhywehaventputahumanonmarsyet.Justbeinginthe
spacecraftitselfisahazard.OnJanuary27,1967,threeAmericanastronautsVirgilI.Grissom
(19261967),EdwardHigginsWhite(19301967),andRogerB.Chaffee(19351967)were
killedwhenaflashfireracedthroughtheircapsuleduringaroutinepracticedrill.Theywerethe
firsthumancasualtiesofthespaceprogramtodiewhiletrainingforascheduledNASAmission.
Tohonortheirmemory,theirtragicmissionwasnamedApollo1("IntroductiontoSpace
Exploration"Online).Thiswasnteventhereallaunch,justpractice.Thoughtheymademany
tweaksafterthis,spacetravelisstillextremelydangerous.ThereweresixmoreApollo
missionstothemoon(fivethatsuccessfullylandedonthemoon,withApollo13forcedtoreturn
homeafteritwasdamagedbyaviolentexplosiononthewaytothemoon)beforetheprogram
endedin1972("IntroductiontoSpaceExploration"Online).Apolloalmostdidntmakeitback.
Whentheoxygentankexploded,theylostpowerandbarelymadeitbackbyslingshotting
themselvesaroundthemoonbacktoearth.Tragedywouldstriketwicemore,thistimeinthe
shuttleprogram.ThefailureofahydrogenfueltankcausedtheChallengertodisintegrate
seventythreesecondsintothelaunchofitstenthmission,resultinginatwoyearhiatusand
investigationoftheNationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA).In2003,damageto
theColumbia'sheatshieldduringlaunchledtotheshuttle'sdestructionasitreenteredEarth's
atmosphere(IntroductiontoSpaceExploration:AtIssue.Online).Thesetragedieswereboth
causedbycarelessness.TheChallengeraccidentwascausedbycoldweatheronthedayof
thelaunch.TheColumbiaaccidentwascausedduetoalackofawaytocheckthebottomofthe
ship,possiblythemostimportantpartoftheshipforreentry,fordamage.Ontopofthese
incidents,thereisnorealreasonforspaceexploration.Onebigreasonpeoplegiveforexploring
spaceisthatlifealwayshasandwillseeknewenvironments,andsowemustdothesame.
Thisreasonisbuiltonanuntruebasis.Lifewillnotseekoutnewenvironmentsunlessit

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becomesunfitforlife.(Lind,Online)Theonlyreasonhumanshaveexploredisbecauseour
brainsworkdifferentlythananimals.Unlikeanimals,wedomorethansimplysurvive.Webuild
communitiesandevenhavetimeforfunandrelaxation,whichissomethingmostanimalsdont
havetimefor.
Eventhoughthesetragediestookplace,westilllearnedfromourmistakes.Wearestill
goingtospaceandconstantlylearningmoreandmoreaboutourselves,howwemighthave
cometobe,whatourfuturemightbelike,anddiscoveringnewtechnologies.TheISSisup
aboveourheadsforthisexactpurpose....Theresearchundertakenwithin[theinternational
spacestation's]wallswillenrichourcomprehensionnotonlyofspace,butalsoofeveryday
lifethroughhealthcarediscoveries,improvedconsumergoods,moreefficientindustrial
processes,andareinvigoratedspiritofexplorationhereonEarth(Goldin,DanielS.Online).
Everyday,scientistsontheISSareworkinganddiscovering.Anotherreasontogotospaceis
becauseashumans,ouregosjustwontletitbe.Humansarenaturallycurious,alwayswanting
toknowhowthingswork,andwhatsoutthere.Evensincetheancientracesofhumanity,we
havealwayswonderedwhatisupthere.Manypeoplespeculatethat,Itistooexpensivethereis
littleimmediatebenefit.Theproblemwiththosecontentionsisthattheyareblindtothehuman
needtoaddressthecosmicquestionsoflife:Whoarewe?Howareweunique?Whyarewe
here?Howdiditallbegin(Deutsh,Bob.Online)?Spaceisntjustsuddenlygoingtodisappear
fromourlives,itisalwaysgoingtobethere,untiltheendoftime.Therearealsoprogramsthat
stimulateandenrichthesethoughts.SpaceCamplaunchedin1982toinspireandmotivate
youngpeoplefromaroundthecountrytojointheranksofspacepioneerswhoperseveretopush
theboundariesofhumanexploration.Today,withattendeesfromall50states,territoriesand
morethan60foreigncountries,theimmersiveprogramcontinuestochallengeyoungpeopleto
dreamofafutureinspace(SpaceCamp.Online).RememberthatquotefromStoryMusgrave

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atthebeginning?SpaceCampbringsinrealastronautseveryyeartotalkabouttheir
experiencesinspace,andtoencouragekidstobecomeastronautsthemselves.StoryMusgrave
wasoneofthese.IwenttoSpaceCampfor2years.Onthesecondyear,Iwasevenableto
meetStoryMusgraveinperson.StorywasanNASAastronautforover30yearsandflewonsix
spaceflights.HeperformedthefirstshuttlespacewalkonChallenger'sfirstflight,wasapiloton
anastronomymission,conductedtwoclassifiedDODmissions,wastheleadspacewalkeron
theHubbleTelescoperepairmissionandonhislastflight,heoperatedanelectronicchip
manufacturingsatelliteonColumbia(StoryMusgrave.Online).

Spaceexplorationisextremelyimportantinhowwelivetoday.Withoutit,wewould
notbeastechnologicallyadvancedaswearetoday.Oursocialliveswouldalsobevery
different.Wewouldstillbesendinglettersinsteadofemails,andwewouldhavetowalkto
otherpeopleshousesandmeettheminpersoninsteadofjustcallingthemonacell
phone.Satelliteshavemademanydiscoveriesabouttheworldwelivein.Withoutthem,we
wouldntknowwhatearthtrulylookslikeandwewouldstillbeguessingusinginaccurate
maps.Withoutsatellites,wewouldntevenhavetheinternet.Thiswouldseriouslyaffectthe
communicationofscientificdiscoveries,leadingtoalessadvancedandconnectedworld.
Overallthetremendouswaythatspaceexplorationhasaffectedourlivesfaroutweighsthe
risks.Itisverydifficulttoweightherisksandbenefits,however,assomesortvalueis
neededtobeassignedtoeachriskandbenefit.Wasgoingtothemoonworthlosing3
astronautsinApollo1?Italldependsonhoweachconsequenceisweighed.Some
considerahumanlifetobemorevaluablethanamajorscientificbreakthrough,andvisa
versa.Althoughspacetravelisextremelydangerous,theoverallbenefitswehavegained
throughitfaroutweighthecosts.Ontopofthat,researchinspaceisconstantlydiscovering

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newtechnologies,medicines,andmore.Evenifspacetravelisnotsupported,itwillalways
intriguechildren.ThisiswhatSpaceCampisfor.ProgramslikeSpaceCampwillalways
continuetosparkinterestinspaceexploration,andevenencouragesometocontinuein
thespaceindustry,andpossiblyevenbecomeagreatcaptainofaspaceendeavoroftheir
ownsomeday.Inthisway,wewillalwayscontinuetoexplorespace.

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WorksCited
Deutsch,Bob."AmericaNeedsSpaceExplorationtoMaintainItsVisionofItself."Space
Exploration.Ed.DavidHaugenandZackLewis.Detroit:GreenhavenPress,2012.AtIssue.Rpt.
from"SavingOurSpaceProgram."USAToday[magazine]1Nov.2010.OpposingViewpointsin
Context.Web.11Feb.2014.
Goldin,DanielS."HumanQuest:TheInternationalSpaceStationandMarsExploration."
HarvardInternationalReview21.2(1999):268.ProQuest.Web.11Feb.2014.
"IntroductiontoSpaceExploration."SpaceExploration:TriumphsandTragedies.Kim
MastersEvans.2012ed.Detroit:Gale,2013.InformationPlusReferenceSeries.Opposing
ViewpointsinContext.Web.23Feb.2014.
"IntroductiontoSpaceExploration:AtIssue."SpaceExploration.Ed.DavidHaugenand
ZackLewis.Detroit:GreenhavenPress,2012.AtIssue.OpposingViewpointsinContext.Web.
23Feb.2014.
Lind,Michael."HumanSpaceflightShouldEnd."NASA.Ed.MargaretHaerens.Detroit:
GreenhavenPress,2012.OpposingViewpoints.Rpt.from"WhyWeShouldEmbracetheEnd
ofHumanSpaceflight."salon.com.2011.OpposingViewpointsinContext.Web.10Feb.2014.
NASA.NASA,n.d.Web.23Feb.2014.<http://www.nasa.gov/>.
NASAHistory.NASA,n.d.Web.6Mar.2014.<http://history.nasa.gov/moondec.html>.
O'Rourke,P.J."Obama'sAsteroidTheDeclineofNASAandtheSenselessPrioritiesof
ourGovernment."TheWeeklyStandard10June2013.OpposingViewpointsinContext.Web.
12Feb.2014.
SpaceCamp.SpaceCamp,n.d.Web.23Feb.2014.<http://www.spacecamp.com/>.
StoryMusgrave.Lannistoria,n.d.Web.23Feb.2014.
<http://www.storymusgrave.com/>.

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"TheUnitedStatesMustProvideStableFundingfortheSpaceProgram."NASA.Ed.
MargaretHaerens.Detroit:GreenhavenPress,2012.OpposingViewpoints.Rpt.from"NASA
andObama'sBudget:ThePoliticsandIdealsofHumanSpaceExploration."TheChristian
ScienceMonitor.OpposingViewpointsinContext.Web.10Feb.2014