Eliminating NASA's Manned Space Program Weakens America Militarily

I just watched on TV the last of our NASA shuttle flights. This will terminate our ability to make manned shuttle flights to outer space. I don't know who made the decision to terminate the manned program, but it was probably the Obama Administration.

Why would we want to close down this manned program? There are a few obvious reasons. It is very expensive, and we need to cut government expenses in this time of tremendous government budget deficit and debt. But is this the place to cut?

The TV news announcer said 30,000 jobs will be cut in Florida. That could be good. Fewer government jobs. It also could be bad. More people unemployed.

What about the work that needs to be done in outer space? We already have satellites in place. The satellites can observe human happenings on earth and report same to a control Center. They collect weather information. They relay information from one place on earth to another. Do they ever malfunction? Yes. We can either repair them or substitute new ones.

Presumably, the space program will continue in a non-human way, such that we can have a shoot to deliver a replacement satellite. Is that cost-effective, or should we be considering repair? While some repairs could be made through a built-in repair system actuated by a signal, in many cases human intervention would be necessary. If my air-conditioning system doesn't work, I call in a repair man. It's more cost-effective than having a new air conditioning system, which still requires human intervention of installation.

What about military implications? Alexander the Great, the Romans, and the Persians all tried to dominate the world by military means. More recently, Germany and Japan tried to do the same thing, which led to World War II. Is that time over or are there still possibilities of recurrence? Are we absolutely sure that the Chinese and Russians have no desire to put us militarily out of business? Technology can be a tremendous advantage in a military conflict. The Russians now have the capability of delivering a man to a space station (satellite}, where he has been known to make repairs and renovations not accomplishable by remote means. I judge the Russians now have one up on us in space technology, which could give them a significant advantage.

If the idea of maintaining an effective space program based on unmanned technology is so attractive and presumably effective, why can we not expand it to other military aspects. For example, we have recently used unmanned aircraft called drones in Afghanistan. They have apparently done a good job for what they were intended and should be continued. However, does that mean we can depend on them for all military aircraft requirements? If so, can we shut down pilot training? I don't know anybody who would want to do that, but it is a clear analogy to the manned space program.

As we know, there are many subversives to American culture and economy within our own society. In fact, many believe that there are a significant number of such individuals in our federal government. One way to weaken American defense against potential economic or military aggressors is to weaken American military capability. I believe the shutdown of the manned space program decreases American military might. It should not have been done, and Congress should intervene to see that it is reinstated.