“Maybe they only had one rocket?” -Lawrence Beeter, WWII British soldier
I absolutely love space. If you know me, you would know how much I love space. I have always been fascinated by it. It is infinitely vast and there are so many things that we learn all the time about space and the things hidden beyond our world. Space gives us so many cool things to learn, understand or just look at/observe.
I was relatively young when I started to be fascinated by space. When I was younger, it was all about the images of planets and space shuttles or rockets etc. and the first time I really remember getting into it and wanting to know more was after the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia on re-entry in February 2003. Related but tangential, the article by the Atlantic titled “Columbia’s Last Flight” is one of the greatest articles I have ever read in my life. I don’t have a definitive list, but I would be surprised if it is not in the top 2 or the #1 if I made a list. It is so incredibly long. It goes into detail about the whole accident, the investigation afterwards and it reads like a small book. That’s how in-depth it is. If you are interested, please feel free to click the link and go read that. It will be more informative, better written and more enjoyable than what I expect you will find after this, but seriously it is incredibly long. (Also, I love you though if you choose to continue to read)
So I loved space and I thought it was cool, the Space Shuttle was a horribly mismanaged and over budget project that, in retrospect, chained humanity to low earth orbit and effectively halted exploration of space by humanity for many, many years but it was also an incredibly important tool for things like the International Space Station and other objects in Low Earth Orbit. Also, the Space Shuttle and it’s existence is the only reason why the Hubble Space telescope even operates today. If we didn’t have the Space Shuttle, we would have had a significantly more difficult time attempting to repair the focus of the telescope after deployment. I love it, I think it is beautiful but there are many negatives about the program.
As I write this, I am watching the full television broadcast of the Apollo 11 launch. They have it recorded and uploaded to YouTube and I can just enjoy it. The Saturn V rocket launched about 10 minutes ago and now they are just talking about a recap of the launch and showing the replay. I am about to change to www.firstmenonthemoon.com where you can watch the entire approach and landing sequence of Apollo 11 coming to the moon with absolutely fantastic graphics. It is the best way to experience the landing on the moon and if you have never seen it. It’s a true experience. Just pull it up, full screen it, and enjoy.
I find it all beautiful. The mystery, the knowledge that can be found, humanity’s understanding of itself and the world around us is so fascinating that we can gather from exploring other planets, asteroids, and observing star systems or galaxies.
My favorite celestial body in our Solar system is Enceladus. The gorgeous Icy Moon of Saturn. It is a gem of the solar system and it is the perfect pairing to its beautiful planet Saturn which is considered by many to be the most beautiful planet we have. The ice of Enceladus is believed to possible hold life forms. It has a carved and fractured surface that gives it an incredibly beautiful look. The possibilities inside it are so alluring that I can’t help but hold some love for it.
I have purchased posters for my bedroom, sadly I have not moved into my place to set them up yet. They are Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) designed posters of celestial bodies and of course I have the Enceladus one.
SpaceX makes me excited, not because it’s cool or fashionable, but because it is happening. Actions are happening and progress is being made. You can experience it weekly and see how they continue to progress toward regular space flight. There is of course to the attraction of it being hip, sleek and cool but there is a lot more to it than that. It brings hope and excitement to me and many people like me about the future. With the speed at which SpaceX is advancing commercial spaceflight, I am starting to allow myself to dream about the day when I can actually get into a rocket and go to space. There is no experience in life I want more than that and I honestly swear that if I get the opportunity one day to fly and it has a (as SpaceX calls it) “Rapid, Unexpected Disassembly” and I were to perish going to space, I hope that no one at my funeral cries about it because that would mean that I died while experiencing something that I waited my whole life to accomplish. I could not imagine a more poetically just way to go for me than in a rocket going to space. (A bit morbid but I understand the risk and I will accept it for the opportunity)
Last week, after over 6+ months of looking, I finally found the LEGO NASA Saturn V set and purchased it. The Saturn V set is probably the most stunning set I have seen, no stickers, only painted on graphics, and it is simply massive, a little over 3 feet tall and the first and second stages are 6 inches thick. In addition to that, it completely separates into first, second, and third stages with a LEM and Command Module. It is nearly always sold out, but luckily I found it and was able to order it quickly… Unfortunately, it is being shipped to my new apartment and it will come before I move in, so I have to get creative about how I handle getting it.
When I first went to University, I started to study Physics because I wanted to be an astronomer or at least something in a field close to that but after realizing the reality of what I would be doing daily, I know it wouldn’t be exactly what I wanted to do. That was a sad reality that I had to face but luckily now, I am able to enjoy things like observing stars(as an amateur) through a telescope or learning more about the motion of stars/objects in my free time, in a much more relaxed environment.
If you read through this whole thing, please consider reading, or at least checking out the Atlantic article I mentioned earlier. It really is fantastic.
I just want to add Rest in Peace Richard Gordon. Former Astronaut and the Command Module Pilot of Apollo 12 during the Second Lunar Landing who passed away on the 6th of November 2017 (the day before this post was made) Though you never walked on the moon, you were able to experience something that only a very small handful of people ever have. Being completely alone while orbiting another body. You experienced what it was like to be on the far side of the moon, completely cut off from every other living creature in the universe and that is something I can’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like. Thank you for your service and your actions in the NASA program during your career.