Why The Space Program Is So Important

My son and I went to Butterfly World. It is a wonderful place just north of Miami. You walk from one garden to another with butterflies all around. It is a peaceful and beautiful place.

While I was there, I suddenly understood why the space program is so important.

I grew up with the space program. I remember seeing Sputnik streak across the sky. I remember Shepherd's first flight and months later had my picture taken next to his Mercury capsule. I was nine years old at the time. My son later had his picture made next to that same capsule. He was nine years old at the time. Those two photos sit on my desk.

John Glenn was my hero.

I knew -- and still can recite -- the names of all seven Mercury astronauts.

I stood near the Vehicle Assembly Building when Apollo 11 lifted off to send men to the first lunar landing. I was three miles away from the Saturn V -- as close as anyone was allowed to be. The ground shook. I could feel the heat on my face. The noise was so loud I thought I was going to go deaf, and I distinctly remember thinking that at the age of 15 I would never need to hear anything again -- not after hearing that wonderful sound.

When Glenn returned to space a few years ago, my wife and son and I drove up to the Cape to see the launch up close.

I was thrilled that the shuttle returned to space, relieved that the crew returned safely to earth the other day, and saddened that the fleet is grounded.

I love the space program.

So why do we go to space?

We have computers in every home as a spin off from the Apollo program.

We have pens that write upside down.

A recently designed golf ball, which has 500 dimples arranged in a pattern of 60 spherical triangles, employs NASA aerodynamics technology to create a more symmetrical ball surface, sustaining initial velocity longer and producing a more stable ball flight for better accuracy and distance.

What marvels indeed. And all thanks to the space program.

But the real reason for our space program is beauty.

Everyone loves the Hubble Space Telescope. Do they understand any of the science? No. Not many of them do. But we all love those photos. Why? Beauty.

Space travel has nothing to do with colonizing space, understanding science, or producing economically marketable products.

It has to do with the search for beauty.