Spacex and NASA recently worked on a joint project for the first time to take 2 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The incredibly futuristic looking capsule and the kit inside was built by Spacex, a private company owned and run by the Tesla owner Elon Musk. This is the first privately built American craft built on American soil to take man into space so in that sense, makes a interesting dot in history. The launch didn't go without its problems though, with the original launch on the Wednesday being aborted with about 20 minutes to go due to inclement weather. Instead, it took place on the Saturday with near perfect conditions to take off. And it did without a hitch. 19 hours later after taking off (and in fact a couple of minutes early), the capsule caught up with the space station and the soft docking then hard docking took place over the next couple of hours. A hugely successful and important mission for the transportation to the ISS. Spacex had effectively become somewhat of a transport service to NASA through this, kind of like a taxi. This made me jokingly think up a few names like ubernaught, astrouber and spacecab.
We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special. - Stephen Hawking
Around 10:16 GMT on the evening of the lift off, we then had the opportunity to see both the ISS and the Dragon capsule as it orbited the earth. With a clar and bright dot darting through the sky, it was special to know that we were watching a moment of history with our own eyes. It really made me reminisce of the fascination with space as a child. I think everyone has that phase, mostly through the intriguing nature of exploration and knowing what is outside of what we already physically see. I certainly thought about becoming an astronaut and how much fun it would be to then look back on the earth seeing its full scale and the itty bitty lands that inhabit it. My inner 'nerd' if you will loved the fact there was so much we didn't know about the various planets and with meteors being linked to dinosaurs, what more could you want! My significant other shares this interest too, I think for the same reasons, plus the escapism of being somewhere extremely distant from the vastly pressured world.
I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream. - Neil Armstrong
A trip which further fuelled my interest in space exploration was the family holiday in 2006 to Florida. With our itinerary packed full of theme parks and family fun, my parents decided to divulge in a bit of a science trip by taking us to the Kennedy Space Centre. This was 14 years ago so I'll try and remember as best I can the details. It was in July I believe as we celebrated the 4th of July over there. As we pulled up to the space centre, I remember seeing sparse amounts of space (ironically) where many working shuttles and vehicles would be transported. The entrance was actually relatively small, but inside lay some futuristic screens explaining the experiences we would have today and giving us a brief history on space exploration. We then boarded a shuttle bus with a guide and left the centre to drive a good 5-10 minutes to the next out building. This was down a runway-esque road. Over the day we saw many buildings, mostly massive with huge historical ships adorning the ceiling and taking up masses of space. The sheer scale of all the test equipment including zero gravity rooms and shuttles, was phenomenal. The only sticking point was a massive thunderstorm that raged overhead with an apocalyptic pour down of rain and lightning. We were also stuck in an outbuilding that had corrugated metal roofing. It was terrifying at points but actually further enhanced how powerful the earth is compared to us and how much we still have to explore, especially in space.
You cannot look up at the night sky on the Planet Earth and not wonder what it's like to be up there amongst the stars. And I always look up at the moon and see it as the single most romantic place within the cosmos. - Tom Hanks
Another influential medium that constantly has me interested in Astronomy is that of film. This varies from the ridiculous and non-realistic, being Space Jam, to films based on true stories like Hidden Figures. Space Jam is an iconic film which most people reading this will be familiar with. Although based on cartoons, it explores the possibility of life on other planets and the powers/habits that they possess. This is done in such a funny, family friendly way that it de-threatens the idea of these unusual creatures being dangerous and scary. A massive part of exploration is aliens and this is further seen in films such as Paul that have a stereotyped looking alien. Again, I think to dampen the seriousness of a possible worldwide threat and to make aliens commercial, these film makers have chosen the comedic route to portray them. Hidden Figures is juxtaposing with a more serious, true to life tone. The premise of the film follows 3 young African American women who have an integral part to play in the American/Russian space race that took place in the 1960's. They battled against the racial prejudice that was common place in that decade which really stopped people from achieving their full potential. With the sheer intelligence and brilliance from these mightily impressive women, America managed to successfully get astronauts into space. The whole film is very aspirational and inspires those who think they can't reach that level that, with will power, anything is possible.
Whenever I gaze up at the moon, I feel like I'm on a time machine. I am back to that precious pinpoint of time, standing on the foreboding - yet beautiful - Sea of Tranquility. I could see our shining blue planet Earth poised in the darkness of space. - Buzz Aldrin
As the years pass and the technology advances vastly and quickly, space exploration will surely become more commercial and the reach will be easier for those with expansive wealth. I genuinely think with regenerations of space travel happening frequently, future children will look up to the sky and have the same escapist, wonderment feeling that so many of us have.
Curiosity is the essence of our existance. - Gene Cernan
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