Prometheus Unbound
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally written before the loss of the space shuttle Columbia. In an effort to keep our destiny in space in view, even as we continue to investigate the tragedy, I have re-posted it for the month of March.
In recent months, I have written several articles wondering openly what the Bush administration's space policy would mean for the future, wondering whether there was a coherent philosophy behind that space policy in the first place, and lamenting spectacles of indirection and lack of vision while expressing hope that there was a grand design behind everything, after all. It's still early for a final verdict, of course, but a hugely positive development in the President's plans for NASA and propulsion technology is evidence that my hopes have not been in vain.
It's to be called "Project Prometheus". (Great name!)
Essentially an expansion and re-christening of an existing initiative, it is nonetheless of tremendous importance; spending a billion dollars over a five-year period to develop advanced nuclear propulsion technologies is something that has been needed for a long time, and if Project Prometheus goes forward successfully, it could have unprecedented ramifications for the way we conduct space exploration. http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/...
I hope it isn't reading too much into it to propose that, after all, as I was originally almost too afraid to believe, we really are going to step up to the plate in manned spaceflight.
I have gaped at the cuts to the International Space Station, but wondered if perhaps it was an effort to free up resources for bigger and better things as quickly as possible. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/dest... I have wailed and gnashed my teeth at the close shave experienced by the VASIMR development program, but looked for reassurance to quotes from NASA Administrator O'Keefe regarding the need to develop advanced propulsion systems. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/dest... And I have lamented the Orbital Spaceplane as a woefully unambitious project that will likely distract us from a manned mission to Mars for entirely too long, although on a technical level it has merit. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/dest... But now, perhaps, we have a glimpse of what Jacky Fisher would have called The Scheme. And, to borrow his words, it seems we are to have "The Scheme! The whole Scheme! And nothing but The Scheme!" (Sir John Fisher of the Royal Navy was the spiritual father of the all-big-gun battleship, HMS Dreadnought.)
As I have wanted very much to hope, it now looks as though we may be on track to get the International Space Station off our backs and a manned mission to Mars underway, although we may still miss the 2019 deadline. But, better late than never. And with a little luck, we may not even be late, after all. Advanced propulsion has a wonderful way of taking you places more quickly.
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