Does anyone remember Sputnik? I do. I remember looking into the night sky trying to catch a glimpse of the Russian space craft when I was a kid. We were astounded that Russia had lifted an object into space ahead of America. We feared what this might mean for America's future. Fortunately, within three years we had a man in space and the Russians were in our rear view mirror!

Yesterday America's final manned space flight came to a close. Thirty years of shuttle flights ended when Atlantis touched down at the Kennedy Space Center. Fifty years of American manned flights ended as well. The future of NASA and US efforts in space are up in the air. No one seems too excited about the program.

Admittedly, I did not even watch the pre-dawn landing. Manned space flight is something we take for granted today. It is as routine as running around the corner to the grocery store for a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs. Even this last shuttle flight to the space station was like a grocery run–delivering supplies and hauling the garbage back to earth. Not the stuff of dreams and high adventure.

In 1961 when Alan Shepherd blasted off in Friendship 7 sitting atop a Mercury rocket we were glued to our small screen black and white television sets. It was exciting. We knew the names of all the original Mercury astronauts. We followed their launches and cheered their success because it was America's success. We were beating the Russians at technology and it gave a sense of pride to the country.

Neil Armstong's "one small step" in July 1969 was the capstone of the decade. America put men on the moon first!

Now, when America wants to send a man into space in the future it will be aboard a Russian space craft at $69 million a seat. Quite a change.

The country really cannot afford manned space flight with all our mounting debt. But perhaps the problem is more than economics. Perhaps it is a matter of will. We seem to have lost a confidence in the future and our ability to do big things. Our leaders divide into partisan groups with no one demonstrating courage or vision for the country's future. People on the street have stopped listening to the leaders.

The deeds of yesterday's heroes tell us we must never accept defeat and decline as the final act. We could turn around and do great things again. The key lies in looking again to the heavens, not at a man made object but at the handiwork of God. In Him alone is our future.