The Novelty of Wonder

This morning on 770 KKOB the discussion centered on New Mexico’s spaceport, located in the southern part of our state. My unwavering opinion is and will remain that it is a wasteful endeavor that very likely will never even lead to anything tangible. And even if commercial spaceflight is ever a reality from the spaceport it will have been wasteful for so many years into the future to the taxpayer and so costly that too few will even be able to experience it.

One of the last callers on the topic brought up the wonder of it all and his grandson’s desire to one day travel to space which, with the retirement of the space shuttle and Obama’s direction for NASA, seems less likely for tomorrow’s aspiring astronauts. That wonder and aspirations that come from it is a powerful thing and in that sense the spaceport can be a positive, providing that wonder that is unattended by NASA’s departure.

When I was young I wanted very much to attend space camp and one of my first career aspirations was to be an astronomer. Interest in space and the work that NASA once did was definitely something that inspired me and my eventual choice of engineering as a career. As the years have gone by my interest in space waned and my view of NASA dimmed. As the father of a young child I want him to have that same sense of inspiration. With NASA diminished though, the spaceport becomes a possibility.

But is it worth the costs to our taxpayers? Governor Martinez’s attempts to find more private partners for the effort is the right path and the best chance for the spaceport’s, and New Mexico’s future.