Our priceless supremacy in space

The recent retirement of the space shuttle brought an important era in American space exploration to a close. But it doesn't have to mean the end of American leadership in space.

Just as Apollo led to the shuttle, there is always another chapter to be written in space. Whether America or another nation writes it, however, depends partly on critical decisions that the administration and Congress will make in the coming months.

America's Hubble Space Telescope and its Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, for example, have led the world in discovery for years, and the genius that produced them didn't disappear with the last shuttle flight. It's alive and well in the skilled aerospace workforce that has been building the Hubble's successor, the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Webb telescope promises to be an engineering marvel and the largest ever put in space. It is to orbit beyond the moon at temperatures near absolute zero, peering back through time to see closer to the Big Bang than scientists ever have. But Congress is considering canceling this wonder even though it's already 75 percent built.

Closer to home, NASA's Earth observation program has changed life for everyone on the planet. Our extensive hurricane warning system, which resulted in unprecedented evacuations ahead of Hurricane Irene, has saved thousands of lives and increased our forecast window from three to five days without a meaningful loss of accuracy. That extra time can be the difference between safe, orderly evacuations and hectic scrambles that do more harm than good.

Earth observation enhances food production, natural resource management, and our understanding of the climate and global warming. But budget pressures are also putting these capabilities at risk. Some of the satellites involved are exceeding their design lives; already, two NASA polar satellites are not fully functional, and a third is nearing its expiration date. Trying to save money by cutting this program would be foolish, as the economic costs of missed forecasts would vastly exceed any possible savings.

Looking deeper into space, the next generation of human spaceflight, including possible trips to the moon, an asteroid, and ultimately Mars, is behind schedule due to fits and starts across administrations. Such programs require long-term commitment and support to stay on track for the next round of great discoveries.