Posted on 10/29/2008 6:14:52 PM PDT by melt
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has gained a foothold in another voter demographic: astronauts.
Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, endorsed the Democratic candidate on Wednesday in an op-ed published in the Orlando Sentinel.
Comparing Obama’s inspirational capabilities to those of JFK, she writes, “He has inspired young people to engage with their communities and has excited them about the possibilities of what they can accomplish. That is in the best spirit of discovery.”
Space travel is not just the subject of childhood fantasies though. It’s primed to be a major policy issue for the next administration.
NASA, currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, is widely considered to be at a crossroads as it refocuses on returning to the moon and sending the first astronauts to Mars.
President Bush highlighted the new objectives in 2004, less than a year after the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated while reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. To reach these goals, NASA will retire its aging shuttle fleet — only 10 more flights are planned — and create a new generation of rockets, the Ares I and V.
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
One affirmative action baby supporting another. Too bad. You never heard from any astronauts in the past about who they supported.
Take a long walk off a short tether.
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