The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is putting itself behind in order to get ahead. It seems counterintuitive, but it’s the path the government agency has chosen to embark on.

The space shuttle program, initiated in 1972 by one of our most competent, logical and forward-thinking presidents, Richard Nixon, will terminate in 2010.

NASA’s next venture, the Aries/Orion rocket, will not be ready for launch until 2015. Translation: There will be five years in which American astronauts will be hitching rides with other countries.

It gets worse. The country catapulting our men and women into outer space is none other than our former Cold War nemesis Russia.

Russia? You can’t be serious. It’s deplorable. It’s despicable. It’s more disgusting than watching the footage of Shaun Livingston’s knee giving out.

The only times we should be looking to Russia for assistance is if we are trying to run a car-theft ring or need some pointers about neglecting military equipment to the point it becomes hazardous to operate.

Space is ours. Sure, technically Russia got there first when Sputnik was launched in 1957, but America landed on the Moon first and spends more money on the final frontier than anyone.

John Yembrick is a public affairs officer at NASA. He said the reason for NASA’s half-decade gap between launches was because the program is “starting from scratch.”

Not only is the flight vehicle going to be different, but the launching pad, escape systems and virtually every other component of the process is being retooled. Like Apollo, the rocket will not be reusable and will be propelled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

While the shuttle has its advantages, such as being a reusable vehicle, it’s only good for low-Earth orbit.

The Aries/Orion rocket will be able to reach the Moon. The long-term goal of the Aries/Orion rocket is to reach Mars and conceivably engage in deep-space missions; however, Yembrick was quick to say colonies on the Moon aren’t going to sprout up suddenly.

NASA is necessary to our country the same way a sports program at a college is. It provides us with bragging rights and superiority. America is the best because the Hubble Telescope helped the world obtain unequaled knowledge about the universe. Need more? Two words: memory foam.

Nations of the world are still envious of our space program’s achievements and advancements, but those days are numbered.

Ideally, America will be back on top again once Aries/Orion is completed, but having to tag along with the Ivans in the meantime is disgraceful. Mercifully, John F. Kennedy and Nixon aren’t alive to witness this travesty.

Jordan Guinn can be reached at [email protected]