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From: steve@groucho.ucar.edu (Steve Emmerson)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: space program goals
Message-ID: <5785@ncar.ucar.edu>
Date: 22 Dec 89 20:36:45 GMT
References: <3407@cbnewsl.ATT.COM>
Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu
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In the referenced article, Forrest Gehrke indicates his disagreement
with my submitted hypothesis that, in retrospect, the national prestige 
goal of the Apollo program was irrelevant.  He cites as evidence the
ferver of the times vis a vis the space race with the Soviet Union.

I, too, remember those times.  I cannot believe without very strong
evidence, however, that the outcome of the Moon race would have
affected, for example, the Vietnam War, the oil-embargo of '73, the
development of the PC, Watergate, the fall of the Shah, Glasnost,
democratic reforms in Eastern Europe, or our Invasion of Panama.

I also note that, although the United States "won" the Moon race, it
also developed the massive and somewhat self-serving bureaucracy that
resulted in 1) the Space Shuttle (which I view as something of a white
elephant) and 2) the Challenger tragedy/fiasco.  In retrospect, and in
my opinion, these "downs" cancel, to a large extent, the "up" of 
reaching the Moon first.

These are my reasons for citing the "national prestige" goal (as
implemented) as irrelevant.

--Steve Emmerson	steve@unidata.ucar.edu