The Space Shuttle had a successful liftoff today. I am really pleased because it certainly looked like we were running out of chances to ever put people into space again on a regular basis. We all know that the Space Shuttle has to go away someday, I just would like there to be a replacement.
It does look like the civilian replacements, such as SpaceShipOne, and the encouragement provided by the X-prize for first manned civilian spaceflight, have more of a chance of being around than any government sponsored activity. Call me a futurist but I really think that going into space is an activity that an advanced civilization should be able to do. I have heard much on the uselessness and usefulness of space. Space exploration is a vanishing small part of the gross product of the planet but could have a spectacular payoff. Putting robots out there is a start, but we should touch these places with out own hands (gloved perhaps) and make them our own.
This Shuttle mission is 12 days. I am officially starting mission watch today. Let's see if the media attention will keep up for that long.
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