Check out this badass picture of the shuttle Discovery, launching on its final mission.
It’s so very sad that the shuttle program is ending, particularly so from the lack of any replacement waiting in the wings. True that NASA can still accomplish mind-exploding feats with only robotic spacecraft, and true that those robotic missions may be more valuable at our current stage in the space exploration game. But still. Sending humans up is just… so important. For our growth as a species technologically, for our survival in a chaotic universe, for the inspiring of new generations, for so very many reasons. It’s a great thing that companies like Space X will now have a role to step into, and an impetus to grow, but I question whether cosmic expansion should be undergone for the profit, rather than the glory. I suppose the glory will always be there, no matter what.
Tags: cosmology, general nerdery, nostalgia, technology, tremendous voyages
