The Space Shuttle Catastrophe Off Cape Canaveral
Seven people have died off Cape Canaveral because we have made manned space flight a golden calf. At the time of preparation for launch of the space shuttle, enormous quantities of scientific data were being received on Earth from an unmanned space probe sent off years ago. Engineers acquainted with these two programs know how budget pressures merge with the political process initiated by the reach for glory that began with Apollo under the late President John F. Kennedy. The result is a “consensus” that prevents reasonable use of our resources for technical projects.
Whether space is the ideal realm for investing for the future is not the question. The imagery obtained from unmanned space probes has spawned more than unbelieveable amounts of scientific knowledge about the faraway planets. It has also enabled advances in computing that have had impressive influence, and could have even more future impact were development funds made available, on the way that both research and practice have changed in medicine (radiology and pathology) and manufacturing (automation and inspection). The capabilities of computerized image analysis are great; in space they warrant further utilization by new unmanned probes.
I have these opinions as the result of a 30-year career in engineering: some of my employment was through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory), and much of what I work on at UCLA has been influenced by space-funded research.
Last Tuesday became a long sad day when I heard about the death of seven people, one a teacher and a mother. It ended as a sadder day for me when I opened the mail at my work. I am a member of the UCLA faculty: I work in the School of Engineering. One of the bright lights of our group was dimmed forever when Prof. William J. Knapp, also a teacher, and a father, was struck “in an apparent hit-and-run accident while jogging on San Vicente Boulevard.” Indeed “the university has lost one of its finest gentlemen and scholars.”
Eight people are dead that should not be. Power is being used in evil ways. Whether it is in automobiles or rockets for space, too many perish because we waste money that could help build the public good. Fantasies of private citizens, of senators, should be replaced by debate, by analysis, by informed judgment. We can do much to make a better world through technology. We should make that the memorial to those brave people.
ALLEN KLINGER
Professor
Engineering and Computer Science
UCLA
