“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.” – Elon Musk
4 days ago history was made and it was awesome! SpaceX and NASA’S launch marked the start of the commercial crew era of U.S. human spaceflight and a return to American operated spacecraft. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020, and docked 19 hours later with the ISS. NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station is a critical final flight test of the SpaceX crew transportation system.
I can’t believe it has been almost 10 years since the last American space shuttle was launched. Launches were tracked, watched in school, celebrated accomplishments, or mourned losses. Space was my thing! When the book, Apollo 13 was released, my friend and I had a competition to see who could finish it the fastest. I don’t quite remember who won that competition, but I do remember dreaming of becoming an astronaut. Even though my life path was turned in a different direction, I never stopped being awed by the greatness of space, space flight, and space exploration. Maybe my love from space came from living a short drive from Cape Canaveral and being able to witness rockets shooting to the stars. But I believe it is something much simpler, ingrained in all humans, uniting humanity together; the spirit of exploration! And this launch revived that spirit in me.
NASA, America’s space program, will continue to work with commercial companies like SpaceX and Boeing to design, build, test, and operate cost-effective human transportation systems to low-Earth orbit and eventually beyond. While this is an important mission, this is not what brought on tears and goose-bumps as I watched SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket the Crew Dragon spacecraft safely to the ISS with my young children. It was being able to witness the spirit of humanity working together and creating a “future better than the past” for my children and my children’s children. While STEAMwhiz is not physically launching astronauts into space (hmmm…maybe one day!), we hope our philosophy to inspire a love of learning and doing by making keen observations, asking insightful questions, and learning exciting stuff, will keep humans among the stars. We and all humankind are ready for the ‘Next Giant Leap!’