Mission to Mars (27 page)

President Lyndon B. Johnson was instrumental in both ratcheting up and scaling back the United States’ space race with the Soviet Union.

As Senate majority leader in the late 1950s, he had helped raise the alarm regarding Sputnik, stressing that the satellite launch had initiated a race for “control of space.” Later, Kennedy put Johnson, his vice president, in personal charge of the nation’s space program. When Johnson became Commander in Chief after Kennedy’s assassination, he continued to support the goals of the Apollo program.

However, the high costs of Johnson’s Great Society programs and the Vietnam War forced the President to cut NASA’s budget. To avoid ceding control of space to the Soviets (as some historians have argued), his administration proposed a treaty that would outlaw nuclear weapons in space and bar national sovereignty over celestial objects.

The result was 1967’s Outer Space Treaty (OST), which forms the basis of international space law to this day. The OST has been ratified by all of the major spacefaring nations, including Russia and its forerunner, the Soviet Union.

All of NASA’s manned moon landings occurred during Richard Nixon’s Presidency. However, the wheels of the Apollo program had been set in motion during the Kennedy and Johnson years. So Nixon’s most lasting mark on American space activities is probably the space shuttle program.

By the late 1960s NASA managers had begun drawing up ambitious plans to set up a manned moon base by 1980 and to send astronauts to Mars by 1983. Nixon nixed these ideas, however. In 1972 he approved the development of the space
shuttle, which would be NASA’s workhorse space vehicle for three decades, starting in 1981.

Also in 1972, Nixon signed off on a five-year cooperative program between NASA and the Soviet space agency. This deal resulted in 1975’s Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint space mission between the two superpowers.

President Gerald Ford was in office for less than two and a half years, so he didn’t have much time to shape American space policy. He did, however, continue to support development of the space shuttle program, despite calls in some quarters to shelve it during the tough economic times of the mid-1970s.

Ford also signed off on the creation of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in 1976. The OSTP advises the President about how science and technology may affect domestic and international affairs.

President Jimmy Carter didn’t articulate big, ambitious spaceflight goals during his one term in office. However, his administration did break some ground in the area of military space policy.

Though Carter wanted to restrict the use of space weapons, he signed a 1978 directive that stressed the importance of space
systems to national survival, as well as the administration’s willingness to keep developing an antisatellite capability.

The 1978 document helped establish a key plank of American space policy: the right of self-defense in space. And it helped the U.S. military view space as an arena in which wars could be fought, not just a place to put hardware that could coordinate and enhance actions on the ground.

President Ronald Reagan offered strong support for NASA’s space shuttle program. After the shuttle
Challenger
exploded in 1986, he delivered a moving speech to the nation, insisting that the tragedy wouldn’t halt America’s drive to explore space (excerpt on the next page). “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave,” he said.

Consistent with his belief in the power of the free market, Reagan wanted to increase and streamline private-sector involvement in space. He issued a policy statement to that effect in 1982. And two years later, his administration set up the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which to this day regulates commercial launch and reentry operations.

Reagan also believed strongly in ramping up the nation’s space-defense capabilities. In 1983 he proposed the ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which would have used a network of missiles and lasers in space and on the ground to protect the United States against nuclear ballistic missile attacks.

Many observers at the time viewed SDI as unrealistic, famously branding the program “Star Wars” to emphasize its supposed sci-fi nature. SDI was never fully developed or deployed, though pieces of it have helped pave the way for some current missile-defense technology and strategies.

Washington, D.C
.

January 28, 1986

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle
Challenger
. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we’ve never lost an astronaut in flight; we’ve never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we’ve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the
Challenger
Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we’re thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and
brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, “Give me a challenge, and I’ll meet it with joy.” They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us. We’ve grown used to wonders in this century. It’s hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We’ve grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we’ve only just begun. We’re still pioneers. They, the members of the
Challenger
crew, were pioneers.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The
Challenger
crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.

I’ve always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don’t hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That’s the way freedom is, and we wouldn’t change it for a minute. We’ll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: “Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it.”

There’s a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, “He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.” Well, today we can say of the
Challenger
crew: Their dedication was, like Drake’s, complete.

The crew of the space shuttle
Challenger
honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”

President George H. W. Bush (the first Bush in office) supported space development and exploration, ordering a bump in NASA’s budget in tough economic times. His administration also commissioned a report on the future of NASA, which came to be known as the Augustine report when it was published in 1990.

Bush had big dreams for the American space program. In July 1989—the 20th anniversary of the first manned moon landing—he announced a bold plan that came to be known as the Space Exploration Initiative. SEI proposed the construction of a space station called Freedom, an eventual permanent presence on the moon, and, by 2019, a manned mission to Mars.

These ambitious goals were estimated to cost at least $500 billion over the ensuing 20 to 30 years. Many in Congress balked at the high price tag, and the initiative was never implemented.

National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C
.

July 20, 1989

Behind me stands one of the most visited places on Earth, a symbol of American courage and ingenuity. And before me stand those on whose shoulders this legacy was built: the men and women of the United States astronaut corps. And we are very proud to be part of this unprecedented gathering of America’s space veterans and to share this stage with three of the greatest heroes of this or any other century: the crew of Apollo 11.

It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed. Neil [Armstrong] and Buzz [Aldrin], who originated the moonwalk 15 years before Michael Jackson ever even thought of it. And Michael Collins, former director of this amazing museum and the brave pilot who flew alone on the dark side of the Moon while Neil and Buzz touched down—Mike, you must be the only American over age 10 that night who didn’t get to see the Moon landing …

Project Apollo, the first men on the Moon—some called it quixotic, impossible—had never been done. But America dreamed it, and America did it. And it began on July 16th, 1969. The Sun rose a second time that morning as the awesome fireball of the Saturn V lifted these three pioneers beyond the clouds. A crowd of one million, including half of the United States Congress, held its breath as the Earth shook beneath their feet and our view of the heavens was changed forevermore.

Three days and three nights they journeyed. It was a perilous, unprecedented, breathtaking voyage. And each of us remember the night …

The landing itself was harrowing. Alarms flashed, and a computer overload threatened to halt the mission while Eagle dangled thousands of feet above the Moon. Armstrong seized manual control to avoid a huge crater strewn with boulders. With new alarms signaling a loss of fuel and the view now blocked by lunar dust, Mission Control began the countdown for a mandatory abort.

America, indeed the whole world, listened—a lump in our throat and a prayer on our lips. And only 20 seconds of fuel remained. And then out of the static came the words: “Houston—Tranquility Base here: The Eagle has landed.”

 … Apollo is a monument to our nation’s unparalleled ability to respond swiftly and successfully to a clearly stated challenge and to America’s willingness to take great risks for great rewards. We had a challenge. We set a goal. And we achieved it.

So, today is not only an occasion to thank these astronauts and their colleagues—the thousands of talented men and women across the country whose commitment, creativity, and courage brought this dream to life—it’s also a time to thank the American people for their faith, because Apollo’s success was made possible by the drive and daring of an entire nation committed to a dream.

In the building behind me are the testaments to Apollo and to what came before—the chariots of fire flown by Armstrong, Yeager, Lindbergh, and the Wrights … [S]pace is the inescapable challenge to all the advanced nations of the Earth. And there’s little question that, in the 21st century, humans will again leave their home planet for voyages of discovery and exploration. What was once improbable is now inevitable. The time has come to look beyond brief encounters. We must commit ourselves anew
to a sustained program of manned exploration of the solar system and, yes, the permanent settlement of space. We must commit ourselves to a future where Americans and citizens of all nations will live and work in space.

And today, yes, the U.S. is the richest nation on Earth, with the most powerful economy in the world. And our goal is nothing less than to establish the United States as the preeminent spacefaring nation …

In 1961 it took a crisis—the space race—to speed things up. Today we don’t have a crisis; we have an opportunity. To seize this opportunity, I’m not proposing a 10-year plan like Apollo; I’m proposing a long-range, continuing commitment. First, for the coming decade, for the 1990’s: Space Station Freedom, our critical next step in all our space endeavors. And next, for the new century: Back to the Moon; back to the future. And this time, back to stay. And then a journey into tomorrow, a journey to another planet: a manned mission to Mars.

Each mission should and will lay the groundwork for the next. And the pathway to the stars begins, as it did 20 years ago, with you, the American people. And it continues just up the street there, to the United States Congress, where the future of the space station and our future as a spacefaring nation will be decided.

And, yes, we’re at a crossroads. Hard decisions must be made now as we prepare to enter the next century. As William Jennings Bryan said, just before the last turn of the century: “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”