Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Space Travel Made Public
It is amazing to me that it was almost 50 years ago in 1961 when the world sent the first manned space shuttle into space. At the time Internet did not exist and televisions were just starting to become popular, it is hard to imagine humans had the capability to travel to such lengths. It was not until 8 years later (in 1969) that Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin Jr. first landed on the moon. At the time space travel seemed almost unreal, but the fact of the matter was it happened. Since that time period the world has evolved, technology has grown exponentially into our everyday lives. What is astonishing today is that the world is now talking about having space travel available to everyday people. Virgin Group’s Richard Branson has made it his goal to make space travel a possibility for civilians. Although the cost for traveling to space is a mere $200,000, I find it incredible to think that one day I might be able to take a trip into space. The current initiative is to offer tickets for a trip to outer space lasting about 2 ½ hours, however their long-term goal is to have hotels, museums, and other activities offered while visiting space. They would like to make space travel an option for a family vacation. It is funny to think that in the future parents are going to surprise their kids with a family vacation to outer space instead of a cruise to the Caribbean or a trip to Disney World. Although it has been 50 years since the world first saw outer space I find it incredible that soon space travel will be an everyday occurrence for the average person.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It would be awesome to go into space someday. It's amazing that it's been almost fifty years since we first went to space but its disappointing in the little progress we've made since then. NASA used to be one of the focal points of the U.S. but now it barely even gets enough funding. Luckily, like you mentioned, the private companies are looking into space exploration now and maybe this will bring back everyones fascination with space.
ReplyDeleteSpace travel would be awesome, and I think it's closer than we all think, especially with the ideas in this blog. I think the whole idea of space travel wasn't just to beat the Russians at being the first ones up, but to beat the Russians at claiming territory. Our country was looking towards our future when NASA was first started, knowing that the rate at which we are growing will soon create a population too large for that of our own country to handle. The new frontier, space, and now spring break on Mars, is getting ever closer to being a reality.
ReplyDelete