I know, I know – it doesn’t actually have a comma in it, but I had to put it in so I didn’t go insane. Man, I really need to sit down and watch through that show again…

Regardless of that, this is more of a farewell to America in space, as Atlantis made its final landing today:

Space shuttle Atlantis makes final landing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14220423

I’m kind of too numb to be as devastated as I should be, heh. When I was a wee little tot, I direly wanted to be an astronaut, and even (supposedly) told a tour guide at the NASA centre in Huntsville that I should be picked to be one because I am/was economically packaged (I’m still not buying that I said that at age 7, whatever my mother might claim). I realized as I got older that higher maths and I didn’t get along (by the same token that I suck at see-saws, ha ha), and that I’ve got too many nausea/vertigo issues to be of much use in zero gravity, but that never stopped me from dreaming of a day that spaceflight would exist like in the various charming sci-fi tomes I’ve read over the years.

And sure, I know that there are some out there in the public sector looking to provide spaceflight for the masses – Virgin Galactic has been out there since 2004, and has been taking bookings for nearly as long. It’s not true space flight, though. Oh sure, you’ll reputedly get six whole minutes of free floating… but is that really worth $200,000? I guess if you have the money, then it’s up to you as an individual to decide that, but to me? It’s not a trip to Mars; come back when you’ve got something better on offer.

Still, there is the chance that those working to develop spaceflight for commercial purposes will stumble across the trick of getting us around the galaxy/universe without crushing us like bugs, or removing us from existence for hundreds of years. There is, after all, always a chance… but I’m not going to count on it. But I will continue to dream that it might just happen… someday. Or maybe one of the other countries that are investing more money into space will figure it out – the USA might be giving it a rest, but India, China, Japan, and the EU are still working on it. And, of course, so is Russia, so…

In the meantime, have some lighthearted and thematically apt music, compliments of Buzz Aldrin and Snoop Dogg:

Buzz Aldrin – Rocket Experience

<3