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Griffin nails it
Jul. 19th, 2009 06:55 amI've said before hereabouts that human spaceflight isn't about science. Michael Griffin, former NASA administrator, lays it all out at the Washington Post (registration required):
"You either believe that expanding the range of human action and thereby creating options for the future is a noble endeavor, worthy of the cost and risk, or you do not. No lesser justification is acceptable, and no greater justification is needed."
That's not as easy to agree to as "but it's for SCIENCE!" But it's a heck of a lot truer, and the spaceflight program would be better off if the country could decide if it indeed believed that or not.
"You either believe that expanding the range of human action and thereby creating options for the future is a noble endeavor, worthy of the cost and risk, or you do not. No lesser justification is acceptable, and no greater justification is needed."
That's not as easy to agree to as "but it's for SCIENCE!" But it's a heck of a lot truer, and the spaceflight program would be better off if the country could decide if it indeed believed that or not.
