Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Forty-One Years Ago...

Forty-One Years Ago...

Forty-one years ago humans took their first step on another world and our universe changed. I was NINE years old when this took place. I am FIFTY years old today as I write this blog. And I feel like we have not done a damn thing since.

There was the space truck (i.e the Space Shuttle). Then EVENTUALLY, there was a orbital space station for the space truck to go too. Along the way, we lost two of those dump trucks and on the last one, I lost a former Air Force ROTC classmate who was the commander of that ill-fated mission. I remember I was in a light sleep that morning when I heard the sonic booms and I thought, "Uh oh. Some poor SOB out of Clovis (New Mexico) is going to get their ass chewed out when they return to base.

Forty-One years have passed...and I feel like we still haven't done a damn thing but spin our wheels so to speak. One study after another study. Just enough for the politicians to get through another election cycle and NASA not to do anything really important as far as Manned Space Flight goes.

I fear now that I will not live long enough to see Man land on Mars. I really, really hate that feeling. I really hope that I am wrong on that.

Forty-One Years Ago...

1 comment:

Jake said...

I feel some of those same frustrations. I guess the key is for those of us who have the passion for space exploration to keep sharing it like you have here. Contacting politicians is another. Supporting space advocacy groups is a third. I've tried each of these and felt better for doing so.