Some thoughts…
I spent yesterday, the 4th of July checking out the launch of space shuttle Discovery. It was the first time ever that the shuttle had launched from Kennedy Space Center on the nation’s birthday. I watched with pride as the bird took off on the 230th birthday of the United States. I was especially proud of the two female crew members, one of whom is an African American. It reminded me of my childhood dreams of being an astronaut back in the days when neither women nor Blacks were accepted into the astronaut program.
This led me to wondering if NASA employs people with disabilities. Are there any folks with disabilities who are members of any of the many projects and teams that NASA has, or are we relegated to being merely janitors, cooks, or maybe, secretaries? I then began wondering if we ever got off of this rock, what role would people with disabilities play in this. Would we forever be left out of the important stuff? I believe that most folks with disabilities are healthy enough to withstand the rigors of spaceflight. At this point, though, I think that the only way that someone with a disability will get into space is if they are a rich tourist.
That is why I will be glad when private companies start doing regular space trips. Space travel and exploration should be for anyone who wants to go, and is healthy enough to do so, regardless of disability. It shouldn’t be just for government employees, or the super-rich. Just wait–when we have habs on the Moon, I’m going to apply as a policy analyst or an accessibility specialist. My skills and talents can be put to use anywhere, so why not the Moon, eh?
July 7th, 2006 at 12:22 am
Hmmm, ya got me thinking about this.
Apparently, the military DOES allow people with disabilities to be in the armed forces -or at least remain there AFTER they made them that way by sending them off to war, where they were blown up and/or maimed and made to be a person with a disability. I wonder, though…do they allow someone who has walked (or rolled) in off the street into a recruiters office to join up?
Yes, we have certainly come a long way from only a few decades back when they did not allow women, nor blacks in the astronaut program. Wonder how far we still have yet to go until EVERYONE can be treated equally?
July 7th, 2006 at 3:13 am
No, people with disabilities cannot just walk or roll in off the street and join. You are right in that if a recruit or an officer acquires a disability while in service they are SOMETIMES allowed to stay on in a desk job position.
I do not think that NASA will ever allow a person with a disability into the astronaut program, but I cannot see why someone who has a disability would not be qualified for some other position within the agency.