John Glenn and Earth orbit anniversary: America needs manned flight in space

This week's 50-year anniversary of astronaut John Glenn and his Earth orbit should remind America that it needs manned flight in space. Some say the space race is over. But America is in a new space race for jobs, skills, and knowledge for the future.

Fifty years ago this week, on February 20, 1962, John Glenn Jr. became the first American to orbit the Earth, inspiring generations of citizens and setting the nation?s human space flight program on a path to a successful moon landing a mere seven years later.

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As ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony honoring Mr. Glenn, who is also a former senator. Joining him as recipients of congressional medals were Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin ?Buzz? Aldrin Jr., the crew of the first mission to land on the moon back in 1969.

Each of these individuals is a genuine national hero and worthy of our gratitude. They and the astronauts that preceded and followed them were willing to put their lives at risk ? and sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice ? in order to push back the frontiers of knowledge and help our country achieve preeminence in space exploration.

Yet, America?s human space flight program ? scaled back since the final space shuttle launch last July ? has always been about much more than simply building rockets and space capsules and launching astronauts into space.

It is about inspiring people; it is about providing a peaceful and positive demonstration to nations around the world of American technological preeminence; it is about developing cutting edge technologies for human space missions that benefit our citizens and create new jobs.

It also motivates young people to pursue careers in science and engineering and advances knowledge generally.

The list of the fruits of investments in NASA that have become embedded in daily life is practically endless, whether they be as broad in scope as global satellite communications or as specific as smoke detectors, cordless power tools, digital mammography, body imaging, specialized formula for infants, and firefighter breathing systems. The Apollo and shuttle programs alone resulted in over 200 commercialized applications.

I know that some say: ?The space race is over, we won it more than 40 years ago, and supporters of human space exploration are just captive to nostalgia.?

I disagree. We are in a new, equally demanding ?space race? ? a race to inspire young people to acquire the science and engineering skills they will need to compete for the jobs of the future; a race to develop the technologies that will not only help Americans explore space but also strengthen our economy and improve quality of life back here on Earth; and a race to maintain our leadership as a space-faring nation in the face of growing competitive challenges by other nations.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/6XPefuCsAH8/John-Glenn-and-Earth-orbit-anniversary-America-needs-manned-flight-in-space

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