According
to a new poll by IBOPE
Zogby, most people disagree with ending the shuttle and agree with the idea
of a public/private partnership in space. Now that caught my attention. You
see, the shuttle was intended as a low Earth orbit transport vehicle. Private
companies are trying to do exactly that. By shutting down the shuttle we open
the market to private companies.
However,
that's not space exploration, that's space utilization. I think that closing
down the shuttle not only fosters the growth of the private space market, but
it also frees up resources that can be devoted to true space exploration.
Furthermore, once the market has become established, scientific research can be
funded primarily by national institutions. Those institutions can purchase
flights on private rockets instead of requiring a LEO vehicle paid for by
another national organization. This will help improve access to space for
smaller organizations, such as universities.
So, while
I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding the shuttle and private enterprise,
I am glad to see that there is general support of the space program.
However,
I'm not sure I like the poll itself. It was short, and the questions weren't
always easily answerable. The first question asked if you agreed or disagreed
with the decision to end the shuttle. The initial decision was made by Pres.
Bush, and Obama decided to continue that decision when he took office.
Secondly, the conditions under which each decision was made differ from each
other. By clarifying which decision was meant would help clarify peoples
thoughts on the matter.
 Image via Wikipedia |
| Map of countries with human spaceflight capability (dark blue) |
The third
question asked whether future space exploration should be conducted by NASA or
private companies. There was no distinction made between LEO and GEO
utilization and being the first group to pioneer a new horizon. Getting junk
into space (and hopefully soon, back out of space) is different from first
sending people to Mars or an asteroid.
The fourth
and final question wondered whether people were concerned that other nations
might surpass us in space. The question should have been broken into two parts.
First, ask if you think that other nations will surpass us. Then ask if another
nation surpassing us would concern you.
I do not
think that this poll offers an accurate, in depth view on what people think of
space exploration. It's questions do not provide insightful answers, and they
do not address all the relevant issues. The poll lacks in clear definitions of
terms. Overall, however, the poll's questions do quite well in posing the
question: Should we be exploring space? As the sample size is fairly large, and
somewhat representative, it seems clear that the majority of the public
supports exploring space. But a more nuanced understanding is impossible with
this poll.
