On September 22, 2011, Neil Armstrong testified to Congress and said it was an embarrassment that the United States didn’t have a way to send humans into space.
For my entire life, the United States has had a space craft and was actively launching it. I don’t have any memories of the end of the Apollo program but I vividly remembering reading about the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs as a kid. I watched the first Space Shuttle launch on TV and watched the last one. I have heard Kennedy’s famous moon landing speech countless time and it still gives me goose bumps. I realize there are bigger problems in this country than NASA’s budget but space is the final frontier and inspires so many things. I also remember the Challenge and Columbia tragedies. Space travel is risky but some risks are worth taking. Some prices are worth paying.
Ok, off my soap box. 
