Houston, This is Lone Star One

 We have all seen the demise of the JSC space shuttle program which was arguably the most successful space endeavor ever to be attempted in the history of our world.

Another slap-in-the face from the Obama Administration, this action not only weakens the position of the United States in the world, but, perhaps more importantly to us, the state of Texas as well. 

To the best of my knowledge, our Governor doesn’t seem to have weighed in on any of this, but then again, no sitting governor of Texas has visited the Johnson Space Center since Ann Richards in 1995. I have no idea what her interest was (pro or con), but at least she made a show of interest. What I don’t understand is the abandonment of a program that has tremendous commercial potential, a potential that has never really been exploited. I suppose it is like any other program the Federal Government manages; why worry about making a profit from it when we have good old taxpayer funds at the ready? If they did nothing more than fill the shuttle bay with seats and took passengers up for a glimpse of space, it could pay for itself and make a profit (remember the dentist who paid twenty million to ride in a Russian capsule?), but the commercial applications, including launching and servicing satellites would certainly fill the bill. Instead, the Federal Government will pay many millions to send our astronauts up in an antiquated piece of Russian garbage; something like parking your Ferrari and using a streetcar instead. Money says that the Chinese will have a shuttle-type program up and running in the very near future.

                Dream with me for a moment: The Texas flag once again rises over the nation of Texas. As a new nation, free of the chains and economic burdens of the United States Government, Texas will attract major industry and investment from all over the world. The Johnson Space Center would be a prize for several investors or as a partnership with our new nation. Together we can do what the politicians in Washington, DC are too lazy or inept to do; launch a profitable space program that would be the envy of the civilized world. A space shuttle with the Lone star on it would be quite a sight; one I’d love to see.