Space, The Final Frontier…

The famous beginning words to the original 1960’s Star Trek TV series.  Living on the Space Coast of Florida, we truly get a firsthand view and sound of whenever a launch happens, which is quite frequent theses days. Every flight is different. The flight path, the exhaust plume depending on the time of day or night, the sound based on wind direction. It changes and makes it exciting when it happens. Even the occasional sonic booms on the return of the booster rockets is quite intense and something to be witnessed.  People from miles away line up on the causeways and beaches to catch a glimpse of this unnatural spectacle. If it is manned mission, those numbers increase 5-10-fold. Space X currently is the leader in frequency and contracts with NASA and various other private contractors. Say what you will about Elon Musk, the man knows how to get a program running with rockets and frequency of launches. From the end of the Shuttle Days in 2011, to 2020, we had to rely on Russia to get our astronauts to space. Now, Space X has the means to launch both manned and cargo missions weekly (sometimes faster).

The moon is the next major event with planned manned missions to go around the moon in the coming years and an actual landing by 2030. This will be a major endeavor with joint companies involved, including Space X for the lunar lander (with the help of the newest, most powerful rocket ever, the Starship) as well as The Artemis (powered by SLS) to get the astronauts to space. It will be an incredible task to pull off as so many pieces of the puzzle need to come together with perfect coordination. This will be the beginning for deeper space travel, eventually to Mars. With the curiosity to explore, deep Space really is the final frontier.

Are you ready to travel to Space?