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02/21/2007: "Listen To The Man ... He Knows His Stuff"

John Glenn - former senator, former astronaut and all-around man's man - says we're not getting all we can out of the International Space Station. The current space policy, crafted in the wake of the 2003 Shuttle Columbia accident, includes mothballing the shuttle fleet by 2010 in favor of Apollo-like capsules for exploration of the Moon and Mars. Glenn feels that this policy will short-change a very expensive - and very capable - space station.

"To not utilize that station the way I think it ought to be utilized is just wrong," said Glenn, 85 ... "we will not even begin to realize its potential."

He said he supports the president's moon and Mars goals but not at the expense of the space station, which is only two-thirds complete.

NASA and its international partners, including Canada, Japan and Russia, hope to finish the space station in 2010, but no decision has been made to extend its operation past 2016.

The ISS represents a huge investment of time and money on the part of many countries, and we cannot allow short-term policy changes to affect that. We're just now beginning to enter the operational phase as new arrays and modules are installed, allowing for crew expansion and real work to begin. From the short duration shuttle flights, we know the kinds of discovery and innovation that can come from time on orbit - imagine what we will be able to do with years of research time onboard the ISS!

We made a commitment to the ISS - we owe it to ourselves to see it through.