Divermarv

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless falls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor eer eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high, untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God. – John Gillespie Magee

All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct. – Carl Sagan

To venture into space we must be strong-willed and determined. We must be fully committed to its exploration and discovery; space permits no half measures and is unforgiving of mistakes. – Henry Joy Mccracken

A man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged. One can’t put the difference into words. When the man is a friend it may become painful: the old footing is not easy to recover. – C.S. Lewis

For how many centuries have mankind’s eyes turned skyward? Looking deep into the unknown, even unfathomable, and searching for something. This something often turned into a god, or gods, something to help our species understand what was so keenly foreign. I am continually amazed when I read of ancient civilizations getting glimpses into the understanding of the universe. But sadly usually they were overrun by ignorant warlords. I suppose in some ways that still happens, but I’m digressing. In a “because it’s there” quest, mankind is continuing to turn eyes to the heavens, but now we have been there. And although it has looked a bit bleak recently, things are starting to look up! (No pun intended.) Today marks a milestone, SpaceX’s Dragon ship was launched, orbited, broke orbit and reentered the atmosphere, and successfully splashed down! I know that doesn’t sound like much, but this is a private company we are talking about here. Sure they were assisted by NASA, and funded by NASA, but it was all a SpaceX operation. Mission Control et al was ran by SpaceX. I am very proud of our species today. If there is a hereafter, and our situation could be know by those in it… Carl Sagan surely is smiling! I just hope my children will have the opportunity to take a trip to space!

As you were.