The United States has been an international power for a number of years. We've led the world in many areas, including the space. Probably the most prominent year in the history of the space was 1969. The United States was in a race with the Soviet Union to see which country would land a manned spaceship on the moon first. The United States won when Apollo 11 and its crew landed on the moon in July of 1969. Neil Armstrong was watched on almost every television in the United States when he stepped out of Apollo 11 and said the now famous words, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The United States was able to beat the Soviets in the space race due to better funding and more drive.

Americans were again shocked when one of the worst tragedies in the history of space exploration occurred. Just seventy-three seconds after take-off, the space-shuttle Challenger exploded. All seven members of the ships crew were killed. Among the crew was Christa McAuliffe, winner of the nationwide teacher in space contest. All space exploration operations were shut down until officials could determine the exact cause of the explosion.

Now that the race to put the first man on the moon is over, is it worth spending tax dollars and risking lives to explore the final frontier, as some refer to space. The answer is plainly, simply, NO. Bill Clinton, nor any other President, and Congress does not have the right to be spending our tax dollars on NASA. It is simply not the right place to be putting our money. There are many areas where our country could use money, which are much more important than sending men into space on multi-million dollar spaceships with every launch costing the government millions. The money could be spent on education, crime enforcement, or the environment. ?