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| Still sci-fi Merritt Island, FL December 2019 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
60 years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first-ever human in space when he rocketed into orbit aboard Vostok 1 and flew once around the planet.
40 years ago today, Space Shuttle Columbia kicked off a new era in space exploration as it carried John Young and Robert Crippen on the program's inaugural STS-1 mission.
While it may be difficult to imagine the kind of personality it takes to fly into the unknown, on an unproven vehicle, it's easy to see why the rest of us back here on Earth would be inspired by Gagarin, Young, Crippen, and everyone else who strapped themselves into one of these machines and blasted into the sky. (And since I used the word "into", that doesn't completely apply to Gagarin, as he deliberately bailed out of the capsule at 23,000 feet and parachuted the rest of the way down. Just amazing.)
However they got there, and back, I'd like to think we're all better people because of them.
Ad Astra. And thank you.
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Related:
Remembering Columbia - 18 years later, February 2021
Staring at the belly of the beast, January 2021
Atlantis in the abstract, October 2020
Staring Atlantis in the nose, August 2020
Logo on a space shuttle's wing, July 2020
Old orbiter. New code. February 2020
Where Atlantis feels the heat, February 2020
Looking through Columbia's windows, February 2020
Saying thanks to the Challenger crew, January 2020
Rocket science, up close, January 2020
The warmer side of (space capsule) cool, January 2020
Face-to-face with Space Shuttle Atlantis, January 2020
The Shuttle Era ends, July 2011
Challenger, 20 years on, January 2006
Raiding the Archives 11 - Risk, December 2004
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