Today, my ambling ways took me to the Rocket and Space Center here in Huntsville, AL to catch the sunset. As far as sunsets go, it was not the most spectacular set of colors that I've ever witnessed, but as I was seeing the nuclear fire settle in behind the horizon with the Rocket Center in the foreground my thoughts were drawn to the sad loss of Rock 'n Roll legend Chuck Berry earlier this weekend.
Johnny B. Goode was written in 1958 and recorded in 1959. Eighteen years later, at the height of NASA's push toward the stars, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were sent forth on the first interstellar exploration mission with a gold plated copper record that among other cultural icons of humanity had this most excellent example of Rock 'n Roll recorded on its surface.
As the sun begins to set on those great accomplishments from almost half a century ago, the time has come for humanity to once again slip the surly bonds of Low Earth Orbit and recapture the thrill, hope, and audacity that drove earlier explorers to land mankind on the moon.
The cure for the current state of fear that seems to have become so interwoven with day to day life is to stretch our legs and minds and set out on a great adventure to the stars. The Moon waits, full of water at the poles for fuel, and Mars beckons. I hope to live to see the day where we once again grasp our cultural, scientific, and engineering inheritance from the innovators and greats that have shown us the way to a better future for humanity. It's time to go back. It's been far to long.
Chuck Berry was a real innovator, and he seems to have come from an era of innovators. Their accomplishments have become part of our culture, and sadly, the innovators and explorers of that era seem to be inevitably passing away. Their accomplishments have been turned into monuments.
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| Space and Rocket Center - Huntsville, AL |
The hope and optimism shown by those giants of innovation and exploration have laid out the challenge that its time we live up to in the early part of the 21st century.
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| Saturn I Rocket - Space and Rocket Center - Huntsville, AL |
As the sun begins to set on those great accomplishments from almost half a century ago, the time has come for humanity to once again slip the surly bonds of Low Earth Orbit and recapture the thrill, hope, and audacity that drove earlier explorers to land mankind on the moon.
The cure for the current state of fear that seems to have become so interwoven with day to day life is to stretch our legs and minds and set out on a great adventure to the stars. The Moon waits, full of water at the poles for fuel, and Mars beckons. I hope to live to see the day where we once again grasp our cultural, scientific, and engineering inheritance from the innovators and greats that have shown us the way to a better future for humanity. It's time to go back. It's been far to long.
I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I know that opportunity abounds. I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the gifts we've been given.
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