"Old School" Space Science - Threatening?

Yesterday the Baltimore Sun published an article concerning President Bush's new vision of space exploration and NASA's role. In the article, Bush set the tone for what he called a "new course," in that we as a nation must build and prepare for new levels of exploration. His concept of what this new vision is, however, has caused concern among NASA and other space scientists, since it offers a more centralized way of sending man into space. There is nothing really new about this. After all, centralized planning got us to the moon in record time in the 1960s and stimulated a new era of national pride, technological innovation, and a rebirth in the value of science education. Unfortunately, our zeal for space cooled quickly after Apollo, and this, coupled with a massive decline in funding by subsequent administrations forced NASA to turn inward, seeking to find new ways to economize. This "inward thinking" did not end even with the successes that followed in unmanned exploration and the wealth of new knowledge delivered by the Hubble Space Telescope. It seems (to me anyway) that space science has lost its luster as scientists choose to spend more and more time pondering their navels in the pursuit of "pure science," and reject those driving principles that made what got them into their careers in the first place. The thrill of discovery and drive to conquer insurmountable odds pushed our fledgling space program and brought new and practical applications we all take advantage of every day. In the December issue of Wired Magazine, explorers James Cameron and Burt Rutan questioned the policies of our national space program, and rightly so. Sometimes, the best way to stimulate the acquisition of new knowledge is to "boldly go." If our tax dollars aren't used appropriately, surely private enterprise will fill in the gaps. What would otherwise have been owned by all will be taken and made available to only the privileged few.