A couple of days before the Mars rover touched down and sent its first photos of the Red Planet, NASA announced it had awarded a $460 million contract to Boeing to continue development of the Commercial Crew Transportation System and CST-100 manned spacecraft.
NASA suddenly became a household word again early Monday with the successful Mars landing of the multibillion-dollar Rover.
Maybe it’s time for St. Louis to again be linked with the nation’s space program and its rich history.
The St. Louis Business Journal reported that the funding is part of NASA’s effort, through private firms, to develop commercial spaceships to reach the International Space Station; these missions would replace the now-retired space shuttles and could be used commercially.
NASA wants to taxi astronauts into space within five years, which means St. Louis could be celebrating in less than a decade. (Boeing Space Exploration has its headquarters in Houston—but it is part of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, which calls North County home.)
This is a great opportunity to remind the world that St. Louis played a major role in NASA’s success in space. When Boeing purchased and merged with McDonnell-Douglas in 1997, St. Louis lost an iconic business, but it still lives within Boeing.
When you look at old news clips of NASA mission control at Cape Kennedy or in Houston, you see the name McDonnell-Douglas repeatedly. Why did St. Louis not cash in on this with a space and science museum?
The Saint Louis Science Center is a great place. But I’ve always wondered why there aren’t Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo space capsules hanging from the rafters. Huntsville, Ala., has a Saturn V rocket that greets you when you enter the city. Why not us? Douglas, before it merged with McDonnell, helped build the majestic Saturn V.
With space being “cool” again, St. Louis should find a way to reach for the stars through Boeing’s new mission and remind the nation of this region’s fascinating history with the space program.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
