The US Space program has been the pride and joy of Americans and the envy of the world for half a century. Manned missions such as Mercury, Skylab, Gemini, and Apollo helped set the tone for the space race and the end of the Cold War. They have also contributed greatly to our understanding of mankind's significance in the evolution of the cosmos.

But manned space flight is a very expensive and very dangerous undertaking with virtually no margin for error. It has already claimed the lives of about two dozen astronauts since NASA's birth, if you count training accidents. The original Apollo missions were carried out with technology that -while highly reliable and advanced by 1960's standards- was slower, less powerful, and less advanced than many of today's laptop and handheld devices.

Even before the deaths of the 7 Challenger astronauts, NASA engineers were aware of problems with the O-rings on the solid rocket booster joints that hurled that shuttle into space during cold weather launches.

Even before the deaths of the 7 Columbia astronauts, NASA was also aware of problems that resulted when chunks of insulating foam broke loose and struck the belly of the shuttle during the initial launch sequence. It happened numerous times before the Columbia burned up killing 7, and raining debris over the Southwest. Each time a piece of foam broke loose, and struck the vehicle, NASA engineers weighed the risks, and considered them negligible. Or they ignored them outright. Nevertheless, each time, the shuttle was pronounced safe.

Then people died...

This isn't the NASA of the Apollo era, that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with their intelligence, ingenuity, and determination. This is a NASA that is under budget constraints, and tremendous political pressure to complete expensive projects on time, for less money, yielding better results.

And now another shuttle is at risk. The first STS-118 press release described Endeavour's launch and ascent into orbit as "flawless".

After reviewing photos of the launch, NASA engineers discovered -yet again- that a piece of foam struck the shuttle's heat shield. The strike was characterized as a "small ding". Pictures taken during the shuttle's now famous "backflip" maneuver showed a three inch gouge that damaged 2 of the outer thermal tiles and exposed the protective layer of fabric (the last line of defense between the shuttle's outer skin and the deadly vacuum of space). Managers of the current mission considered reworking their 4th planned spacewalk to include a repair on the shuttle's heat shield, then declared that it was unnecessary and too risky. Yet they delayed the 4th spacewalk from Friday to Saturday to give themselves more time to study their options while still maintaining their schedule.

It seems that NASA has learned nothing despite watching as 14 of their fellow Americans were vaporized along with billions of tax dollars in 2 separate shuttle accidents that had both mechanical and human causes. They still haven't solved the most basic problem of debris striking the shuttle during launch, yet they keep sending them up. Rather than address the cause, they boast about contingency plans such as risky spacewalks, or sending another shuttle up there for a rescue.

Don't get me wrong. It's great that we have the capability to rescue them, and if necessary we absolutely should. But knowing what they know about foam strikes, NASA should be exercising a little more judgment, both with the lives of astronauts, and the hard fought treasure of American taxpayers.

This culture of arrogance and ignorance is the same reason that we've already lost 2 shuttles and their crews. But this culture is by no means unique to NASA.

It's the same culture that allowed Minnesota commuters to cross that bridge, without giving them what many would consider adequate warning about its true condition.

It's the same culture that told Utah miners it was safe to descend into that mine.

It's the same culture that allows innocent children to be repeatedly raped and murdered by sexual deviants all across the US.

It's the same culture that allows US soldiers to continue patrolling Iraqi highways in lightly armored Humvees, knowing that terrorists would rather plant a roadside bomb or hit them with a VBIED, than confront them directly.

Everywhere you look, the US is in serious trouble. Talk about culture shock...

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