NASA and higher-ups in the U.S. government need to realize that the sensor problem delaying the launch of the space shuttle Discovery is not just a bump in the road.

It is a not so subtle sign that the shuttle should never leave the launchpad of the Kennedy Space Center.

Whenever NASA stops treading water and gets Discovery off the ground, it will be the first space shuttle launch by the U.S. since the space shuttle Columbia exploded over Palestine, Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, killing all seven astronauts onboard.

While it is laudable of NASA to attempt to put that disaster in the rearview mirror and move on with its space program, we don’t feel the U.S. government should continue to spend millions of dollars on sending orange-clad Americans into the stratosphere. There is just too much going on in this country to defend our space program continuing.

The U.S. military is falling short of its recruiting goals, taxing already tired servicemembers to the breaking point. Why not pour more money into the military recruiting campaign? Also, thousands of severely injured soldiers are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to inferior health-care facilities and policies. That should not be happening.

President Bush has received oodles of press, both positive and negative, about his Social Security reform plan. That’s another avenue to place tax money in.

While there have been benefits to come out of the space program, such as scratch-resistant lenses and smoke detectors, we don’t feel our government should continue to beat a dead horse.

While the International Space Station is an intriguing proposition, it hasn’t produced enough results. We don’t see it ever taking off. Who wants to float around when you can walk on Earth?

Discovery will eventually take off and our space program figures to go along on its merry way.

What a shame.

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