Space – Race – Surely we can do better this time around

It’s Sunday, May 31 2020.

It proved an interesting morning

After waking for a music special starting at 4am, I then watched the Space X Falcon 9 rocket launch a pair of American astronauts in to space.

Like many children of the 1960’s I was a little obsessed with the Space program and closely followed the Gemini and Apollo missions culminating in the moon landings.

In the minds of the broader U.S and world communities, the finals years of the 1960’s were the halcyon days of human space flight.

The Space X launch today was being ‘billed’ as a return to those Halcyon days.

To the days when engineers, designers and scientists were hailed as heroes, the calmness of Mission Control Operators exhalated with the true stars being the Astronauts. As they all were today too.

We are sending American’s in to space at the end of the 2020’s, as we were at the end of the 1960’s.

Similarly, now, as at the end of the 1960’s, American Cities are subject to the anger and frustration expressed by way of protests turning in violent and destructive riots by people who feel deprived, oppressed and persecuted based on their race.

I am not there, and cannot pretend to understand the feelings of the protestors or the feelings of those being protested about or against.

I am a white male of a mildly privileged background who has never been subjected to real or perceived oppression, deprivation or persecution and cannot pretend to understand the feelings of the protestors or the feelings of those being protested about or against.

I have never wanted for educational, business, social or transactional opportunities and as such, cannot pretend to understand how those that feel denied such opportunities feel, or how those perceived to have denied them such opportunities feel.

 

I can imagine or pretend to imagine how it feels, but I can not know how it feels.

It is too simplistic to blame the situation unfolding on the streets of American cities on the current federal administration. It is not four years in the making. It is the product of decades of policy and funding failure by Federal, State and Municipal administrators of both red and blue colours. Let’s call it a purple problem.

America made history when successfully launching Astronaut Alan Sheppard in to Space aboard a Mercury – Redstone Rocket on 1 May 1961.

This was the first major step towards landing an Astronaut on the moon.

Today, Astronauts’ Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first to be launched in to space aboard the Space X Falcon 9 rocket developed for commercial purposes.

This is the first major step towards achieving the Space X objective of sending humans to Mars.

Personally, as a space junkie, I hope this is achieved.

More importantly, as a member of the society of the world, I hope the Americans' we land on Mars leave from a country that is united in all its people. I hope the country they depart from is one where fairness is such a given it is never discussed and where opportunities in education, employment, medical treatment and human decency are overtly equal for all.

And may the rest of the world have followed the example.

And selfishly, I hope I am here to see it, all of it.

Who wants to watch with me?

Colin Morley

PS – Usual Covid -19 Blog Post will be out on 2 June this week