Preparing to go where no two shuttles have gone before

NBC News space analyst James Oberg’s article: NASA set for dramatic shuttle rescue is a clear and interesting report on what plans NASA has for rescuing the crew of STS-125/Atlantis should Atlantis be damaged during its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. The article appeared the same day that the new Star Trek movie premiered and I think that the synchronicity of the two is worth noting. The reality of real and present space flight is much grittier and limited than flight in the future fiction of Star Trek, yet the human willingess to accept danger and reach out from our planet to take a place in the heavens beyond it is comparable. In our enthusiasm to witness the emotion and drama of movies like Star Trek let’s just not forget that there is plenty of drama surrounding our real-life, present-day forays into space. Technorati Tags: space, Shuttle, Hubble, Star Trek, NASA, Atlantis, Endeavor