I want to be an American Astronaut.

Who remembers the first Space Shuttle launch? It was a thrill to watch. The vehicle lifted from the "launch pad" so much more quickly than the lumbering Saturn V rockets of the Apollo space program that we were used to.

I saw a space shuttle launch up close and personal once. I was aboard the USS Mississippi (CGN-40), in port; Port Canaveral, FL. Even from 10 miles away, we could hear the rumble of the rockets as the shuttle lifted off and escaped it's earthly bonds. For someone who grew up with the U.S. Manned Space program, this was the thrill of a lifetime.

I remember when the American space program began. NASA had 7 Astronauts and every little kid wanted to grow up to become one.

I remember where I was on January 27, 1967 when Roger Chaffee, Ed White and Gus Grissom perished horribly in the fire that was Apollo 1.

But these three brave men did not die for nothing. NASA learned from their deaths and the American manned space program lived on.

The program lived on and America did go to the moon. We even "Beat" the Russians getting there. That was very important back in those "Cold War" days. We were involved in a "Space Race".

We of course, landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. I remember that hot summer night also. All anyone could talk about was the Moon Landing.

The Manned Space program became even more important to me when I went away to Military school. America's first Astronaut, Navy Commander, Alan B. Shepard, attended Admiral Farragut Academy. He graduated in 1941. You can be sure that the space program was discussed at length at school.

After the Moon landings and the near disaster of Apollo 13, America moved on to Skylab. It was an interesting program but not nearly as exciting as rockets to the moon. But, still, "Sky Lab" was a "Manned" program.

In 1983, the Space Shuttle "Challenger" had an historic crew member. A Woman. The first American woman to go to space. Dr. Sally Ride was an inspiration to all who observed her and a true pioneer of space exploration. Sadly, Dr. Ride died in 2012. Much to young for such a brilliant person to be taken from us. I'm sure she had much more to give us all.

On January 28, 1986, there was another manned space program disaster. This time 7 Astronauts perished. Unlike the Apollo 1 disaster, were the public did not see the fire happen; the loss of Challenger was very public. No one can forget the images of the space craft exploding a mere 72 seconds after liftoff. Until that moment, it had been a beautiful day. 7 brave explorers perished that day;

Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Judith A. Resnik, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka,
Gregory B. Jarvis and Sharon Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to fly in space. 

Manned space flight is not without risk. Nothing in life is without risk. When we strive to acheive that which has never been done before, there must be an element of danger. So, it is with the manned exploration of the heavens.

On February 1, 2003; just minutes before it's touchdown at it's home base in Florida, the Space Shuttle "Columbia" disintegrated. It seems that it damaged itself during liftoff and that damage, seemingly minor when it occurred, caused a catastrophic failure of the left wing upon reentry. The space vehicle was lost, again with 7 brave souls aboard.  Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, IIan Roman (Israeli Air Force), Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown and Laurel Blair Salton Clark were the crew of Columbia.

The shuttle Atlantis touched down on 21 July 2011 and the Space Shuttle program came to an end. With this final mission, the American era of leadership in manned space flight ended also.

The government can site budget woes all they like but the fact remains, The President did not want to send Americans into space any longer. Leadership is not of value in this day. Risk taking is no longer of value. Achievement is not a priority.

I have cataloged the various human losses in the American space program. Those losses are only on the launch pad or in missions. I did not begin to count lives lost in training accidents. There are many. But, like the mission deaths, they were not without value. These brave people did not die in vain. They perished in search of something greater than themselves. Something greater than the "Program" or even our wonderful Nation. They died as explorers. They were seeking knowledge of what may lie beyond our imagination.

It is imagination that fuels human advancement. The device you are reading this blog on this very minute is a result of the American Manned Space Program.  Electronic miniaturization was required to launch mankind into space and it was developed primarily by Americans in support of the space program.

Has anyone used "velcro"? A space program invention. I could go on but, you get the idea.

I have heard the complaint that the United States is no longer the leader in Science and Math, in schools.  Why? Could it be that many American children don't see the value of learning math and science? I'm guessing. But, I can also guess that if we had some American Heroes that our youth could identify with, say, Astronauts; maybe the tide of mediocrity could be stemmed and we as a nation could become the leaders we used to be.

Manned space flight and exploration is difficult and dangerous. Americans have never before turned away from a difficult or dangerous task. It's time we turned back the clock and went back into space as the leaders of the free world. We are Americans, we are leaders!

"We will go to the moon and do the other things; not because it is easy but, because it is hard..."

John F. Kennedy, President of the United States