Former Meigs Field Operator Says Retired Shuttle Should NOT Go
To Adler Planetarium
Special To ANN By Rich Davidson
Politics in aviation is something we must all learn to deal
with. You may not like it, but it rules our lives. Therefore,
we can choose to know it so that we may in turn defeat it, or we
can ignore it and get run over. Or, in this case, we could be
insulted with no recourse.
I have not been a fan of NASA for many years now. I would love
to be but I am not. Inside the walls of these letters lie a
plethora of intelligent people stifled with bureaucracy. Brilliant
people, who once sought to advance aerospace, in the greatest
aerospace organization on the planet now find themselves working
for a dwindling government agency driven, not by scientists or
engineers, but by the whims of politicians de jour. This is
why I do not like NASA. They are stifling our talent and our
dollars.
But now, NASA has come up with a way to recoup some of our
misspent dollars and in the process a way to win back my heart.
How? That's easy. They can tell Chicago they will not get one of
the retired space shuttles.
What? You haven't heard? NASA is offering the retiring Space
Shuttles up for "sale" and one of the organizations in the bidding
is Chicago's Adler Planetarium. So what's the big deal?
The Adler Planetarium sits on the same peninsula where the famed
Meigs Field once sat before it was deviously cut up in the darkness
of night by the City of Chicago. And now, the city's planetarium
has the audacity to say they want to orbiter so that they could use
it "to inspire the next generation of explorers" and "serve as
inspiration for math and science education." This is total
bunk.
Let's just call it how it is. These orbiters are seen by these
people at trophies, not teaching tools, and the actual exchange of
money is merely a way of making it look legitimate. But already it
has been said the final decision, as to who gets them, will come
down to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. He has asked that
those in the running for the orbiters describe the "benefit to the
nation" that would come from their receiving a shuttle. This
includes how they would use it to "inspire the American public" and
"increase the public's ability to understand the nation's space
exploration agenda." I find it very insightful that NASA chose to
use the word "agenda" instead of "mission" when it comes to this so
called bid.
On NASA's website, it clearly says it conducts its work in four
principal organizations, called mission directorates: Among these
four missions is one critical to the Space Shuttle's success,
"Aeronautics". This mission "pioneers and proves new flight
technologies that improve our ability to explore and which have
practical applications on Earth." This mission is also
clearly at odds with Chicago and the location upon which the
orbiter would sit. Awarding an orbiter therefore, to the
planetarium, would be an insult to the combined intelligence of the
aviation community, without which the shuttles would never have
completed a single successful flight.
Adler Planetarium Artist's Conception
Knowing this, you might think there is no way Chicago would win
one of the orbiter bids. But let's look at some recent
history. During the past decade, many airline mergers were
proposed and road blocked or shot down all together by the federal
government and politicians, Democrats and Republicans alike. These
included United and USAir (twice), American and Northwest, and
Delta and Continental. Through the years, airline mergers have
faced a long tough process of federal government approval. And, as
a result, many airlines folded, others continued operating in the
red, and the rest somehow managed to attract enough passengers with
the allure of terrible service to stay afloat. Then, in 2010,
United and Continental announced their proposed merger.
When this proposed merger hit the news, it was reported in such
a manner that sounded and felt as though it was already approved.
Three months later, in record time, it was just that; approved. In
the merger, the strong airline, Continental, agreed to move its
headquarters to Chicago and take the name of the airline on life
support; United. Now why would they do such a thing?
Political posturing is why. Chicago jobs were saved, jobs were
added when headquarters were moved to Chicago, the name of the
Chicago based airline was taken, and ultimately they received, what
was considered by many, guaranteed federal approval from a federal
government led by a President from Chicago.
Now move forward to today when Chicago's very own Adler
Planetarium decides it wants a Space Shuttle. The new mayor is the
President's previous right hand man, and the person who will make
the final decision, as to who will get the orbiters, is the NASA
Administrator who in an interview said he has three goals as
administrator; re-inspire children to want to get into science and
math, to expand NASA's international relationships, and to reach
out to and engage the Muslim world. Neither of these is on NASA's
list of mission directorates. So clearly, he is driven by
politics.
NASA Administrator Bolden
Having looked at this situation thoroughly, there is but one
question left; who will get the other one? But let's not give
up.
If you would like to contact NASA and "encourage" them to award
the orbiters to someone other than Chicago, here is their contact
information. You do not have a lot of time as they plan to announce
the winners on April 12th and the administrator's decision will be
made days before then.
Public Communications Office
NASA Headquarters
Suite 5K39
Washington, DC 20546-0001
(202) 358-0001 (Office)
public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov
About The Author: Rich Davidson belives he was the last
person to base a commercial operation at Meigs, not counting the
contractor that sold fuel. Having seen what he says is the
blatant corruption that exists in Chicago first-hand, he feels
qualified to make these remarks. The author contacted the
Planetarium before submitting this article, but did not receive a
reply.