Long time COTTonLINE readers may have guessed I read science fiction books by the hundreds as a younger man. Some years ago I donated my nearly 900 volume collection to the library at East New Mexico State University, which maintains an endowed Science Fiction collection.
From time to time I’ll make an oblique reference here to Blade Runner or Dune or maybe something by Robert Heinlein or David Drake. Just yesterday, some happenstance prompted me to intone conversationally, “The spice must flow.”
As a space travel fan, I naturally was delighted that the U.S. has ended an embarrassing period in which our astronauts had to buy rides on Russian rockets to go into space. Today two of ours are on their way to the International Space Station aboard an Elon Musk/SpaceX Crew Dragon, launched at the Cape.
It’s long past time we should have gone back to the moon and beyond, likely with Mars as a next stop, followed by a Jovian moon. We first get established as a multi planet species, then it’s on to the stars.
While I don’t much like the politics of tech billionaires, I do like that a couple of them are funding space ventures. One could wish they understood the capitalism that made possible their reach for the stars.
Afterthought: If I had no other reason to vote to reelect Donald J. Trump President, getting the U.S. back into space exploration in less than 4 years would be sufficient. Fortunately, I have lots of other reasons, beginning with getting tough with China and cracking down on illegal immigration.
