Humans in Space

I graduated from college in 1967 - the peak year of the Vietnam
War. One of the most valuable things in life was a student, 2S,
deferment from the draft. I had pre-arranged in 1966 to join the
US Air Force, reporting in August 1967. After OTS in San Antonio,
I was sent to grad school in Columbia, MO to get a M.S. degree in
math. My first real military assignment was at the NORAD
Cheyenne Mountain Complex - think War Games - in Colorado
Springs, CO. Colorado is so superior an assignment to the jungles
of Vietnam that words fail to express it. I'll take Aspen any day!
As Space Orbital Analysts in the NORAD Space Defense Center,
we used radar data from all over the world to maintain accurate
orbital data on over 3,500 objects in space. When NASA was ready
to launch a mission, they would send us the predicted orbital data,
and we would use our computers and software to compare it with
everything that we knew about. If something was within 50km,
then we would warn NASA to make changes accordingly. Even
small objects moving at 18,000mi/hr can totally destroy a spacecraft.
The Hometown News program would interview us for supporting
manned Apollo missions and send the films to TV stations in our
home towns. Mine ran on both WJBF and WRDW.
It was an exhilarating time to be in the spacetrack business during
the Moon landings. We went to Cape Kennedy and received VIP tours
of the 1mph transporter, the Vehicle Assembly Building and the control
room. The VAB has a chain-link, express elevator to the 37-floor level
catwalk - very impressive. It confirmed my fear of heights!
The aim of the space program is to find a suitable place for a small
number of humans to live when we have trashed our planet. Along
the way Velcro and Tang were invented, but it was not much to
show for the hundreds of billions of dollars. Moon rocks were
much like Earth rocks. The few inches of cosmic dust on the Moon
became a big problem for scientists expecting 6 feet or more. Maybe
the universe was much younger than previously believed - thousands
not billions of years old.
With the current technologies and continuous improvement and
innovation, it is not necessary for humans to go into space. Manned
missions are hundreds of times more expensive than unmanned
missions. I remember the excitement and the national pride, but
manned space travel is not cost effective. Imagine being on the ISS
and finding out that budget cuts will prevent that resupply mission!