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[SkyeLab]

WOW!! Nice one Doug............... , nearly fell off my chair when I logged on....

Brian

[CosmicRocker]

Ok, here is my space age rant, FWIW. This is without a doubt one of the most important space anniversaries we have had to celebrate in recent times. It truly is worthy of reflection now that it is 50 years later. As a civilisation, we probably could have advanced further into space exploration and space mobility than we have over the past half century, but the Sputnik program was beyond any doubt, the beginning marker of the space age and the subsequent space race. It essentially sparked the creation of NASA, and ultimately all the other national space agencies. It is a bit early to comment on the private space enterprises, but we've certainly come quite a long way since the early days.

One can argue that we should be further along with the agenda by now, but as we look at the great variety of exploratory missions that our species has recently launched, and are currently controlling, I look back at the collective enterprise as quite an outstanding accomplishment for our planet's diverse nations. I think we can all feel proud, and thank the Sputnik creators for kick-starting the whole thing.

As I think back on my personal experiences from 50 years ago, they very much parallel those described by PDP8E. I was 7 years old that day, and I remember my Dad taking me outside at night to see if we might see the satellite pass overhead. We didn't see it, but we did watch the evening or nighttime news, where we heard television broadcasts of the audible signal from the satellite. It was a special day for me, and one that turned me into a space exploration enthusiast 50 years ago. On a later date, we did go out to see the Echo satellite pass overhead, which also turned me into a satellite hunter. My dad gave me a 1x1 inch sample of the metallicized Mylar material used in the "beach ball" before we went out and saw that artificial satellite pass overhead. That pretty much cemented my interest in space.

As an international community, we all need to find ways to instill the wonders of space into the minds of our children.

[Del Palmer]

One can argue that we should be further along with the agenda by now, but as we look at the great variety of exploratory missions that our species has recently launched, and are currently controlling, I look back at the collective enterprise as quite an outstanding accomplishment for our planet's diverse nations. I think we can all feel proud, and thank the Sputnik creators for kick-starting the whole thing.

Amen to that!

As I think back on my personal experiences from 50 years ago, they very much parallel those described by PDP8E. I was 7 years old that day, and I remember my Dad taking me outside at night to see if we might see the satellite pass overhead.

In celebration, I watched the movie October Sky last night, one of my all-time favorites -- very evocative. As you were there, would you say it captured the feelings of the era accurately?

As an international community, we all need to find ways to instill the wonders of space into the minds of our children.

Indeed we do! Being envious about their future is silly and unproductive.

[Stu]

Being envious about their future is silly and unproductive.

I find it very productive actually, and I suspect others here do too. Being envious of what the youngsters of today will see and do in their future is the main driving force behind all the Outreach work I do in schools, and also behind writing the children's space books I've written: I want to make sure they appreciate the opportunities they'll have and the wonders they'll see, and don't just lose themselves in an apathetic world of iPods, gangsta-rap and celebrity worship. I can't tell them what it WAS like to fly into space because I haven't done it myself, but I can tell them what events will happen, eventually, in their future, and encourage them to be a part of that future, an active part and not just an armchair observer.

When I stand in front of a classroom packed with over 100 7 and 8 year olds, and take them on my "Tour of the Solar System", and show them how when they grow up people will be walking on the Moon again, and walking on Mars for the first time, am I thinking "Won't that be great?" You bet. Am I also scanning the faces of the kids around me and wondering "Will it be YOU doing that for real one day?" Absolutely. Am I growling inside, thinking "You lucky, lucky *****s, you'll get to see things I have dreamed about for years"? Damn right. But it's that jealousy and enthusiasm that I hope - and I'm told - helps make my talks in schools so useful, because the message is a positive one. A jealous one, yes, guilty as charged, but in that I think I'm no different to many people here, or to people in previous ages who've wished they could see the next generation of racing cars, or fighter aircraft, or musicians or sportsmen or etc etc...

Somewhere, right now, there's a kid who'll grow up to become the first person to stand on the edge of Valles Marineris and peer down at its floor. I hate him or her and am jealous of them for that, sure, but not in a vindictive way.

Envious? Fair enough. Silly? Don't think so.