Shuttle Down

It's the last NASA Space Shuttle mission. And you know what? I'm glad.
   Don't get me wrong, I'm not a flat-Earther or one of those people who thinks that all space exploration is the next worst thing to searching for extraterrestrial life. On the contrary, I think manned exploration beyond our tiny planet is humanity's manifest destiny. It's what we do, exploring. It's what we as a species have always done and it's what's going to take us, inevitably if far too slowly, out into the Solar System and then beyond.
   This is the reason I'm glad the Space Shuttle program is ending. We're meant for bigger and better things, and when the Short Bus to Orbit finally stops being a viable option, we'll focus on what's really important. The Shuttle was really only meant to help build the International Space Station (ISS), and it's done that. As George Bush said, Mission Accomplished. Time to move on.
   Low-Earth orbit - the ISS is only about 200 miles up - isn't even getting your toes wet in the cosmic ocean. It's not even at the high tide mark it's waaaay back in the dunes where the sand fleas get into your swim trunks. We need to go farther, go deeper, get out there into the Cosmos and see what happens. The Shuttle was all about playing it safe, baby steps, nothing too risky or adventurous. Sure, we lost fourteen astronauts, but only the second lost shuttle was really an accident, the first was caused by entirely preventable bureaucratic mismanagement. Which is what you get when you play it safe instead of committing to something truly monumental.
   We need to cut loose, blaze a trail to the next frontier, get our people out there and make things happen. When Christopher Columbus set out for the Western Passage to India, he was... pretty sure... he was going to find it. But he miscalculated severely and found nothing. His crew almost mutinied, and then - voila! - he hits land. Not India, but something much, much better. The same thing will happen when we really commit to space exploration. We'll go looking for one thing but we'll find something far better. I guarantee it.
   Yes, people will die, but they'll die actually doing something worthwhile instead of busy work ferrying satellites into orbit and garbage back down to earth. The Shuttle was nothing more than an extremely expensive delivery van. I'm glad we're done with it.