Willie, if you mean the "piss as art" project, then I couldn't agree with you more. For one thing, there's no way that I could imagine (at very least) how such a concept could be restated as any kind of a bona fide scientific experiment. Then -- prompted by you -- I get to wondering how long this particular "experimental design" might have been in the offing. And also why it hadn't been killed long before now, as the total waste of taxpayer expense that (arguably) it clearly is, in fact.
The ancient Chinese Curse has come true for us Americans: We do indeed live in interesting times.
Thanks, Willie. Great to hear from you.
Yes, that is what I meant.
There is no doubt that, sooner or later, we're going to figure out the cause of the Columbia disaster, correct the situation, and move forward with the space program in one way or another.
That's fine, that's what we should do.
But space travel will still have a fairly large amount of hazardous risk associated with it.
If resuming the space program means resuming the "piss as art" sideshow (or similar irrelevant activities) then I'd just as soon drop the entire space program. It just isn't worth asking our astronauts to take that risky venture into outer space, then degrade their endeavors with such superfluous nonsense.