It's April 12. Where will we go tomorrow?

Today marks the anniversary of a couple of important events in the history of space flight.  On this date in 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first person to travel into outer space.  Also on this date, in 1981 John Young and Robert Crippen flew Columbia on the first Space Shuttle launch.  I believe it is only right that we salute these pioneers, the ones that take the first, dangerous steps of a journey so that we may follow.  The men and women that faced the challenges of exploring that new frontier will always have a special place in my heart.

The Wright brothers made the first powered flight in 1903.  Less than 58 years later man orbited the earth.  Only 8 years passed before Armstrong walked on the moon.  And just 20 years after our first small foray into space a re-usable space plane went to work.  I grew up during the space race.  After watching the phenomenal achievements of both the US and Russian space programs, it seemed only natural that our progress would continue to accelerate.  While we might not get to Jupiter in 2001,  in 1970 I was certain that in the far off future of 2011 we would certainly have visited Mars, and have a regular presence on the moon.

Not quite.  Next year NASA will retire the shuttle fleet with no solid plans to replace it.  I understand the arguments against spending money on exploration when we have plenty of problems here at home.  I just fear that if we cease to look outward we will have lost an opportunity to take important steps in our journey as humans. An opportunity that will take a generation to regain.