“Space: the final frontier.” As a kid growing up in the seventies, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard that phrase spoken. For many of you whose childhood was also pre-Next Generation, I bet you can finish the Star Trek intro without even reading below:

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.

I was two years old when the Eagle first landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong took his “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” so I don’t have memories of that event. However, despite U.S. moon landings ending by the time I was five, I was locked into the space generation. The names Armstrong and Conrad and Shepard and Cernan were known and idolized by me and all my friends. There were few boys who didn’t occasionally rocket to the moon and explore the craggy landscape as they dreamed in their beds at night.

That is why it was such a wonderful moment for me when on May 30 I watched space travel return to U.S. soil after a nine-year absence. It was a history-making launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the first private company to put a manned ship into orbit. Designated the Crew Dragon, this reusable spacecraft was piloted by astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Both men have crewed two previous shuttle missions each, with Hurley being part of the Atlantis crew, the final flight in the shuttles’ great history.[1]

The entrance of the private sector into space travel opens some very intriguing doors. It’s no surprise that progress happens much quicker—and often with better quality—when creative people are having to worry less about governmental red tape and more about being creative. While SpaceX is the first to launch manned spacecraft, they are certainly not the only companies with that aim. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic are just two of the numerous companies looking toward moon travel and beyond.[2]

After such a painful week as cities across the U.S. rioted and burned, watching that rocket soar into the air brought some needed joy and hope. It reminded us that despite America’s issues and struggles, it is still the center of the world’s vision, strength, and innovation. The troubled times will soon pass, and there is still an amazing future ahead.

—Joel

---

[1] Sean Potter, ed., “NASA Astronauts Launch from America in Historic Test Flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon,” NASA, May 30, 2020, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronauts-launch-from-america-in-historic-test-flight-of-spacex-crew-dragon.

[2] Monica Grady, “Private Companies Are Launching a New Space Race—Here’s What to Expect,” The Conversation, October 3, 2017, https://theconversation.com/private-companies-are-launching-a-new-space-race-heres-what-to-expect-80697.