Discovery Lifts Off, We Live in Tomorrow

Sometimes I really forget we live in the world of tomorrow. I watched this video of the launch of Discovery, Mission STS-116 on YouTube and it hit me after the fact that I was watching an immense space vehicle blast into space. Sure, they’ve been doing this since I was in elementary school, and hell, we have a space station… in space, but still, sometimes it really boggles the mind my mind that these things are here and now. Heck, not that long ago this year we were downloading almost live photo imaging from mars. It’s pretty cool to realize that kids who are growing up these days won’t ever know a world where people aren’t routinely going into space (not the common people yet though), and that a space shuttle lift off is pretty routine.

Random memory:
I was probably about 10 or 12 or something, in the boy scouts at a jamboree over on Vancouver Island and one of the activities was something about space. We had about 9 kids sitting in chairs and we all got assignments of “mission specialist” or “pilot” etc, just like on a real shuttle mission. I think we just watched videos and learned about space missions and NASA, though that sounds pretty lame. Probably not when you’re that age though, I remember it being pretty neat. Anyway, something that the teacher said has stuck with me till now. “You will be the generation that walks on Mars.” I of course didn’t believe it at the time. Now though, twenty odd years later I am starting to believe it. We’re getting closer anyway, and probably people my age are pretty much on the cusp of being the ones selected for the mission that will finally land us on another planet.

Now where’s my flying car?