With a thud today the exemplary crew of Expedition 18 returned safely to Earth, their Soyuz craft free of the enigmatic explosive bolt failure that produced such a whirlwind ride for two earlier returns. Welcome back Commander Fincke, Flight Engineer Lonchakov, and space entrepreneur Charles Simonyi, welcome back as the grand experiment finally begins on the sparkling stage your efforts, and those of your earlier comrades, struggled to establish. Soon the station will host its first six-person crew, with members from all five partners living and working aboard simultaneously.
Yet with a whimper NASA withdraws behind budgetary cavil in flimsy defense of the Ares "stick" fiasco. Yes, right as the experience is finally set to begin the U.S. is ready to quit the game. NASA has begun diping to new lows (there's that danger of expectations again!) by defending their inane shiny architecture with flat-out fabrications about the cost of other alternatives. The masters of range safety stand dumbstruck while their crazy creation tumbles towards destruction, threatening American space prestige if not power.
This unexpected and uncomfortable behavior of an erstwhile "stellar" administration leaves even its most ardent supports (and I do count myself among them) coughing in disbelief. When even the popular press can identify problems formerly kept corralled by "rocket scientists" one knows the situation must be getting dire. (And that means juicy!) Fortunately progress needs not be a solitaire sport. Even if one leader can't make it all the way, hopefully the trail they blazed is enough to inspire another to pick up the torch.
For the rest of the world is ready! It's hard not to be encouraged by the February selection of famous Russian cosmonaut Sergei Konstantinovich Krikalyov, current world record holder for most days spent off this world, to oversee their manned space flight program. As others grow blue waiting for the selection of a new NASA administrator, the difficulty of the decision is now rendered so brightly that, next to saving the world, saving it for later as a tougher problem makes a little sense.
But the fluid paradigms of this new world reflect financial realities that present no insurmountable obstacle to those who adapt. For all his faults First Citizen Merickus had his sage moments, "… those that were able to adapt to this world are still alive. Those who couldn't adapt are dead. That's the way with life everywhere, isn't it?" Hey NASA - no one gets to space backing deeper inside a cave. There is a direct alternative to failure: success.