Where’d You Go?

The wheels of the space shuttle Atlantis kissed the ground at Edwards Air Force Base this week after 65 orbits around the Earth, circles made, as it were, on tiptoe so as not to attract attention.

Its mission was secret and, as nearly as one can tell, important. Scientists say it placed satellites in orbit that will serve as links among America’s nuclear forces. If that is the case, the crew of Atlantis has performed a noble service. Much has been written recently about the inadequacy of communications links between the President, the ultimate commander in any future nuclear crisis, and the forces themselves. The stronger the links, the smaller the chance of nuclear accident.

But we have been thinking about the crew. Other space shuttle crews stride from their Pegasuses in full view of television cameras, waving, taking well-deserved bows for their roles as pioneers in the pale blue frontier. Not so the crew of Atlantis. Except within the confines of leakproof debriefing rooms, they must spend the rest of their lives talking of the mission in ways that remind us of the classic exchange between teen-agers and parents:

Where did you go?

Out.

What did you do?

Nothing.