Embracing Endeavour

The Space Shuttle Endeavour took to the skies in a series of flyovers this week to travel from Florida to its final home in Los Angeles.  Last night a friend sent me a note asking why people were making such a big deal about it. 

This was my response:

On behalf of the entire human spaceflight program I'll take it as a compliment that there are those who have come to view putting humans into space as so commonplace as to be yawnworthy.  And certainly we've 'been there, done that' long enough with the Shuttle that much of its initial gee whiz techno-novelty has long ago worn off. So on that level perhaps it is nothing special anymore.

But I think people are perceiving and reacting to it on entirely different levels than that. There are many who recognize and take a great deal of national or just plain human pride in the amazing technical accomplishment it was, and who realize that in spite of the seeming mundaneness of launching people into space these days it's anything but simple and safe and easy even after all these years.

There are those who have a general interest in atmospheric aviation and in space travel who still marvel at the fact that we were able to marry the two and develop a vehicle capable of flight in both realms.

And there are those who appreciate the fact that NASA has returned many dollars in advances in technology for every dollar we've spent in every major space program we've undertaken from day one. From the Apollo program alone, I think you'll typically hear quoted that we returned $8 on every $1 invested in that program in the form of new products, new technologies, new innovative processes, etc. Although I don't know the exact numbers I suspect the return has been similar for our other human spaceflight programs.

More importantly than those things though, I believe the public reaction now is more about what Endeavour represents or symbolizes. People connected so strongly to the sight of the Shuttle launching, or now in its final flyover, because it gave form and energy to our individual and collective drives to always be reaching and growing, expanding our horizons and surpassing our current limits, facing and overcoming huge challenges of all sorts in pursuit of a shared yearning to go beyond. Especially during difficult times here on earth it gave us hope, it gave us a sense that we could still join together and do great things, overcome obstacles, and reach the stars. It brought us together in triumph with each successful launch, and it brought us together again in tragedy in the heartwrenching losses of Challenger and Columbia and their crews. Through it all it reminded us of our shared humanity and interconnectedness.  Deep down I think we all yearn to live more consciously from that place, and with every new mission the Shuttle Program enabled us to feel that more fully together.  

So as Endeavour came back to earth for the last time when it landed in Los Angeles, it wrote the final chapter in the story of an incredible, inspiring, transforming human venture. It was built and operated by the United States but it carried the hopes and dreams and excitement of people all over the world each time it launched and undertook a new mission. It flew high above us and sent back images of a gorgeous planet, one that no longer reflected any artificial political boundaries, and allowed us all to more deeply see and feel our true interrelationship with each other and with our home.

It is these things that I believe people were feeling and reacting to when they saw Endeavour in all her airborne majesty soaring over them one last time, almost close enough to embrace in their arms as they'd embraced her and her mission in their hearts for so many years.  She and her siblings were never just carriers of cargo and crew.  With each mission they also carried our collective human spirit, a spirit of exploration and of unity that transcended any lesser differences we may have been feeling among ourselves.

She's handing off the torch now, and we will continue to experience these same sorts of feelings and rewards through the International Space Station program. Then after it's gone, or perhaps even before, there will be another space program, although its form and specific mission are not yet defined.  But it will come. It must. Because the human spirit is alive and well and is compelled to find expression in ways big and small, universal and personal.

So look up into the night sky when the ISS is flying over and allow yourself to be immersed in that same sense of wonder and oneness that others felt while watching Endeavour fly over this week. And then look back down, at your family, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers, your fellow citizens, and at all the world around you and the planet we live on, and realize that while one big high visibility space program may have just ended, we are still blessed with endless opportunities in every day, in every moment, to reach out together, to explore, to go beyond our current limitations, and to more deeply and fully connect with all of life.

Godspeed, one and all.