To Infinity And Beyond!

YEEEEEEHAWWWWWWW

NASA Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off this morning at 10:39 AM ET. WOOHOO! Finally, we can get our space program back on track.

You know, I feel like NASA has been getting a bum rap, of late. Everyone takes a look at the Columbia disaster, and thinks that NASA is a bunch of slack jawed yokels who can't possibly make a pitcher of Tang. ITS NASA, people. Think of how many NON-accident-prone flights they have had. I stand behind NASA 100,000%. If I could, I would knock my own grandmother (god rest her soul) down to be the first in line for a flight to the moon, to space, to the stratosphere, or to the corner store.

And you know, this brings to mind the people who are against the space program. (Right now, if you google "Anti-Nasa", you get roughly 10 full pages of websites that actually ARE Anti-NASA.) These people see NASA as a waste of money (TAXPAYER money, I'm sure they would emphasize), time, and resources. (I dont want to editorialize overly, but I wonder what these same people would view the War in Iraq as. A waste? Or something that we MUST do? Hmmm.) It reminds me that Space is, as I've heard a couple times, the FINAL FRONTIER. If we as a race (the HUMAN race, that is) want to expand, to evolve, to grow, Space should be our FIRST priority. (Are the people against the space program descendants of the flat earthers? Hmmm.) Think of how far we have come as a race. Consider the idea of a Geo-centric society. How far have we come since then? Think of how far we could have come if we devoted MORE time to space, and learning, and exploration, and LESS time to wars with underdeveloped countries.

Anyhow, I dont mean to preach to you, really, no matter what your politics or personal feelings are. But the old, oft-used adage is very pertinent, and very true. "What if Columbus had decided not to come back to the New World?"

I can think of a dozen other things to say and points to make, but I am going to spend the rest of the non-work day on the NASA website, sending good karma to our friends rocketing their way to the ISS.

"From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle... we just decided to go. "
-Jim Lovell
Apollo 13