Heated Driveway News

What if NASA Could Install Heated Driveways/Runways?

Last week the space shuttle, Discovery, returned to earth after a 13-day mission. Following a few minor weather delays, the cloudy skies in Cape Canaveral, Florida, finally allowed the Discovery crew to touch down at the Kennedy Space Center. The amazing ability to travel through space got me thinking how thrilling it would be to see a space shuttle lift off with all its turbo boosters spewing thick clouds of smoke. Sadly, I do not dwell in any state near Florida, so my chances are slim of this becoming a reality, unless I travel across the country. It made me start to wonder; “What if NASA could install a snow melting system on runways and launch pads across the country?”

Think about the joy and marvel youngsters would experience if their home state was able to host a shuttle landing. Even winter-locked states could theoretically brag about the upcoming landing of the future shuttle, North Pole. Electric radiant heat systems used to heat our driveways to keep them clear of snow seems like a great solution for a NASA approved shuttle landings.

Admittedly, my imagination may be getting the best of me. Weather is just one of the millions of considerations, I’m quite sure, when launching a rocket into space. But for today, it is fun to imagine a giant heated “driveway” at a NASA facility somewhere near the Rocky Mountains, housing the next shuttle ready to fly and ready to land on the world's largest snow melting system. Hey, if we can put a man on the moon, who’s to say that one day my dream of witnessing a launch from my cold climate can’t come true. Technology brought us space travel and it brought us electric radiant heat. Maybe one day they will unite somewhere other than in my overactive imagination.