Are Missions into Space Worth the Risks or the Cost?

By Kate Larsen
Camera Staff Writer

Meredith Drosback said she has known she wanted to be an astronaut since she was 5.

The University of Colorado astrophysics graduate student said Saturday's crash of the space shuttle Columbia has not changed that dream. Drosback and many of her peers agree that the chance to go into space is worth the risk.

"I've thought about it a lot this week," Drosback said, "And if they said I could go tonight, I'd still go."

But in the days following the Columbia tragedy, some people are questioning the billions of dollars spent on manned shuttle missions and whether it is worth the risk or the scientific results.

Even though there are critics of human space travel, there has been little serious discussion about ending the practice, said Roger Pielke, CU Center for Science and Technology Policy Research director.

"Today that is not really an option on the table," he said.

But what the focus of public discussion ought to be, Pielke said, is the space program's future. Now, he said, the program's goals are not clearly defined. And program costs - about $7 billion a year - are high, with few accomplishments to show,

In September. Pielke wrote an opinion column for the Houston Chronicle calling for the restructuring of the space program before inevitable tragedy struck.

The reason?

"When we lose a shuttle - and we will - one of the alternatives might be no space program at all," he wrote. At the time, Pielke said, his concern was losing a shuttle would prompt a political backlash.

Now that the nation is dealing with such a tragedy, the opposite, however, has occurred. There has been an outpouring of support.

"It's an opportunity for NASA, the country and the president to lead a discussion about what to do about the future of the nation's space policies," he said.

Michael Shull, chairman of CU's astrophysical and planetary sciences department, said recent events have raised questions in his mind.
"Why should astronauts have to die for people like us to do our space science work?" Shull asked. 'This is something we have to think through carefully and make it as safe as possible, but get on with business."

David Klaus, a CU researcher and former finalist for the NASA astronaut program, said the Columbia accident hasn't given him any second thoughts about going into space. He also served as a launch controller for the 1986 Challenger mission.

The risk of going into space was the first thing Klaus was told as an astronaut finalist. he said.

When asked if he would try again, Klaus did not hesitate.

"Absolutely," he said.