Monday, August 1, 2011

Outer Space





It was "One small step for Man," combined with "One giant leap for mankind." It was the summer of 1969, while myself, a boy of not quite 8 years of age, marveled at the sight of Neil Armstrong, setting foot on the same moon I continue to gaze and admire well into my elder years. All this while making a transition from New York City to Los Angeles, not knowing what life ahead would be.

The Space Travel program has always been on the strong side of my personal interest, even dreaming of being part of it myself, a common thing for young boys of my era, as well as many before and after me as well. The Apollo program continued into the early 1970's soon to be taken over by the Space Shuttle program a decade later.

With interest in the space program at its peak and a visit to the Kennedy Space Center in the mid 1980's I would continue to keep up with NASA and the excitement of the news of the advancement of Space Travel. I say many blessings to those astronauts who gave their lives for the good of the program, especially the ones on board the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.

As the Space Shuttle program came to a close a few weeks ago, I reflected on 30 years of an interesting side of life and reflect on what may be ahead in the distant future. I continue to listen to stories, mostly rumors, I'm sure, about the possibility of sendind humans to Mars and other distant planets, as well as civillian space travel, none of which I really expect to happen during the course of my lifetime.

With the high tech of today, as I'm sure in the distant future, the Space Travel Program will continue to be a big part of everyday life, news stories, and personal interests for now and many generations to come. Godspeed to all.