"The survival of the human race depends on its ability to find new homes elsewhere in the universe because there's an increasing risk that a disaster will destroy the Earth, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking said Tuesday."
He and I are certainly in agreement there. My father and grandfather worked at The Cape during the early days. I grew up watching men ride to space atop awesomely powerful machines. At a launch I felt the rumble of an earthquake, heard the roar of a hundred thunderstorms, and saw the light of a sunrise. The excitement, the prayers and the goodwill of the thousands watching with me was palitable. It was, and remains, a deeply spiritual experience. Although our motivations may not have been completely pure, it's still the most noble achievement of humanity.
In that time there were many plans to build on the sucess of Apollo and continue to push into space. We could have progressed towards self-sustaining colonies which would insure survival of the species. Instead, we've squandered 30 years and billions of dollars. Although Hawking is correct that moving into space is essential for our survival, I think that ship has already sailed. We aren't going to last long enough to get off-planet. Damn. We were so close too.
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