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Awe: an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like
I was reading up on the Shuttle program at the beginning of the year and noticed that one of the very last launches was scheduled on my birthday. I mulled out loud via Twitter that it’d be very cool to see Discovery take off. One of the guys following me turned out to work for NASA and dropped me a line about organising just that.
If you need a reason to fall in love with Twitter there it is.
Now the September launch could easily get pushed back to October at this point so I’m trying to keep THE PLAN as flexible as possible. The very last flight is scheduled for November so I’ll be keeping that date in my back pocket, but Florida four months from now seems very doable. We’ll see.
After a life time of fictional space flight slamming my imagination all over the place I do tend to forget that the real thing is something to savour.
A major strand of the thinking behind space travel in the Slingers universe came from just how problematic breaking orbit can be and I’ve been working on something new that is a small love letter to the battered Shuttles and their continued resilience. It’s sad to think they’ll end up as museum pieces, but if having them on display reminds kids we need to get back up there then they’ll be continuing an important job even in retirement; to inspire awe.
There’s a chance that when Discovery reaches the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum that Enterprise will be able to tour and once again fly on the back of a 747. That’s how the Shuttle as a concept was first revealed to me as a kid and it’s somehow fitting if it were to come full circle. It should also serve as a reminder that 1977 is in danger of making us here in the 21st century look decidedly old fashioned.
We can and we should do better. Anyway, staying in one place is not how we’re wired.
Mallory O’Brian: Do we really have to go to Mars?
Sam Seaborn: Yes.
Mallory O’Brian: Why?
Sam Seaborn: ‘Cause it’s next. ‘Cause we came out of the cave, and we looked over the hill and we saw fire; and we crossed the ocean and we pioneered the west, and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration and this is what’s next.
The West Wing season two: ‘Galileo’ (2000)
I will warn you that the portion of Florida that Cape Canaveral is located in will do much to un-inspire you. If humankind’s exploration of the heavens inspires awe and wonder, chain restaurants, car culture and binge-drinking students on spring break… Let’s just say it’s an apt counterpoint in terms of human nature. To the heavens! And don’t forget the Jagermeister!