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the2nd
SPACEA
About to Begin!
by
Clayton Steep
Man is on the threshold of an unheralded new
era. Space is about to
become exploited! But for what purpose?
T
he U.S . space shu t–
tle
Columbia
has
s udde n ly pi unged
man from the age of spftce
exploration to the age of
space exploi tation.
The direct exploration of
space began in 1957.
Sputnik
1
was ftung into orbit. Man–
kind stood in awe. T he tiny
~
dot in t he au tumn sky circled
~
the earth, exultan tl y beeping
~
the fact of its ex istence. l t
~
...
cou ld do little more.
~
Twenty-four years have si nce
.g
-
~
passed. We have seen the launch-
.s
ing of thousands of satellites, the
!
placing of human footprints on
~
the moon, extended periods spent
:,
in orbiting laboratories and ..
~~
probes sent to Mars, Venus, Jopi-
ter and Saturo. As far as space
adventures are concerned,
m~n
has succeeded in standing.
Now he prepares to walk.
Why the Shuttle?
The shuttle doesn't look like a
rocket.
lt
doesn't look like a plane
either. In fact, it doesn ' t even
look airworthy: its body is too
bulky for its length, and its wings
2
are too stubby. But the shuttle
has plunged man into the second
space age.
Previous ly, whenever a payload
was sent into orbi t , the launching
vehicle could be used only once.
After serving its purpose, it
would find an orbi t of its own,
there usually to circle the earth as
useless space "junk," or fall back
into the atmosphere.
Yery expensive. This
approach provided the
possibility of placing
satellites into orbit, but
it does not allow for
easily repairing or re–
supplyi ng a satell ite
already in orbit. Nor
does it allow for bring-