[Cincinatus]

Interesting article, but the author completely misses the point about Apollo.

Apollo was not about the Moon, not about exploring the universe, and not about boldly going where no man had gone before. Apollo was about, purely and simply, beating the Soviets to the Moon!. Once that goal was reached, we stopped going there. Put another way, what happens when you win a battle? You stop fighting it.

Space enthusiasts (and I'm one of them) cannot seem to comprehend this simple fact of life. We are doing nothing of any significance in space because there is no national imperative to do so. Thus, 30 years of stop-gap programs, the entitlement Shuttle, and make-work ISS.

Want to conquer the Solar System? Find something out there that'll make millions for somebody. Then, get financing and go do it. Quit thinking of Apollo as a template for the future -- it wasn't a plan to explore space; it was a battle in the Cold War (and one that we won, thank God!).

And stop moaning about our "lousy space future." The only ones responsible for that are ourselves.

[anymouse]

So true "Cincinatus."

The Saturn V laying on its side in front of NASA JSC is a metaphor for NASA itself - a beached whale. A magnificent giant of yesterday, that now is helpless to even save itself, let alone do the impossible that it once did with apparent ease.

Instead of trying to resurrect the ghosts of Apollo, space activists would realize their dream sooner by embracing the engines of capitalism, which historically is what opens frontiers, not government programs.