Obit For A Shuttle Program

While I was reading the Government & Policy Insights on the U.S. space shuttle program, I noticed at the end that “Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS” (C&EN, July 25, page 36). I wonder: Which views in this article are not shared by ACS? The article is not about the disagreement with the decision to shut down the program. Nor is it about the discussion on the economics of space travel. This leaves the greatness of the effort by many scientists and engineers, the courage of the astronauts who were not afraid to fly to space on the craft with “2.5 million moving pieces,” and the impact of the shuttle missions on science and technology.

Perhaps the legalese at the end wasn’t really necessary considering this was more of an obituary to the shuttle than an opinion piece.

By Alex Polykarpov
Strongsville, Ohio