Columbia down. (Comment).(the space shuttle)

Nation, The, February, 2003 by Biddle, Wayne

Like the perennial quest for a "Star Wars" antimissile system, the space shuttle has never been an entirely rational program. At heart, after decades of debate about cost effectiveness and safety, it is a litmus-test expression of faith for its many supporters. That it also happens to be a major meal ticket for the aerospace industry--a profitable child of the cold war that cannot exist without steady government spending on military and "civilian" hardware (which are inseparable)--means that all Americans are on board for every launch whether they believe in it or not.

One salient point on which debate ought to be over by now, because public records are chock-full of conclusive legal and legislative evidence, is that the aerospace-government complex that makes...

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