Space

"I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars." ~Stephen Hawking

"The question to ask is whether the risk of traveling to space is worth the benefit. The answer is an unequivocal yes, but not only for the reasons that are usually touted by the space community: the need to explore, the scientific return, and the possibility of commercial profit. The most compelling reason, a very long-term one, is the necessity of using space to protect Earth and guarantee the survival of humanity." ~William E. Burrows

"The Earth is just too small and fragile a basket for the human race to keep all its eggs in." ~Robert Heinlein

The NASA announcement that the shuttles are going to be grounded again after this flight, makes me a little sad. I don't want another disaster, but I surely hope they aren't grounded for long. I believe humankind needs the hope and dreams that space exploration provides.

There are of course, all the indications that private flights into space aren't that far distant into our future.

"Richard Branson and Burt Rutan Form Spacecraft Building Company" reads the headline at Space.com. The article goes on to say that the company will be called "The Spaceship Company". I Googled that, but other than the news articles there is no website.

Of course, Virgin Galactic does have a website and their vision and hopes are presented on their pages.

And Scaled Composites along with this website in their projects pages, Scaled Composites- Tier One/SpaceShipOne - announced they were joining with Richard Branson several months ago.

I want to see a Mars and Moon Colony company (for starters) with visions that befit the loftiest principles of peace, equality, and cooperation, and using the highest set of ethics, want to do things that benefit all of humankind, not just the few who hold the most dollars.

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The busy week is going quickly. Today was an unexpected day home making phone calls after taking my car to the mechanic. The car is still there and I still don't know what is wrong with it, because my trusted mechanic had a half a dozen other vehicles ahead of mine.. I only had room for a few unexpected events this week- this wasn't one of them, but stuff happens [shrug]. It is a good thing we are a multi-vehicle family and I don't have to be anywhere during the day until Saturday.
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