When the space shuttle Columbia made its near-perfect landing in the Mojave Desert in April, most Americans felt a sense of triumph not completely associated with the accomplishments of the venture. National pride, as measured by technological prowess, held more import than the achievement itself. The French newspaper Le Figaro summed up the attitude: "After their political and military failures of recent years, our friends needed a big technological success. And they've got one."
Although the success of the Columbia may have provided, at least temporarily, a shot in the arm for national prestige, the real impact of the mission was probably lost to most Americans.
Some would, no doubt, be aware of the potential scientific advancements the shuttle will make possible. Among the shuttle's scientific payloads will be a 45-foot-long orbiting telescope capable of peering deeper into space than ever before, and a multifaceted space laboratory for research impossible on earth.
Less known are the commercial exploitations of space that the shuttle enhances. While the communications industry, increasingly dependent upon satellites, is the biggest beneficiary, other industries (the electronics and pharmaceutical, for example) are lured by the profit potential of zero-gravity research.
However, the most portentous effect of the Columbia success lies in its inevitable military usefulness. Indeed, almost from its inception the shuttle has been primarily a military space craft.
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