Space Camp - Day 6 - Airborne thoughts on the way home.

As I type this, I'm flying home from Huntsville (I'll have to post it later. No internet on the plane.). We're headed west, chasing the sunset and as we continue to climb, my ears are popping and clicking as the pressure in the cabin decreases. Sometimes on flights, I wonder why those around me are flying. Are they going to see family? Moving to a new locating? Traveling for business? Heading home? Tonight, the flight seems to be mostly full of business travelers. These men (and they're mostly men tonight) aren't hard to spot. Dressed in slacks and collared shirts despite the heat at both our departure and arrival locations, they're quiet and orderly. They know the drill. Some accomplish work on these flights, other read (tonight mass market paperback novels seem to be the book of choice), others doze. I never mind traveling with business travelers. They generally don't make a fuss about much. It's just another form of commuting to many. Routine in many ways.

I've always enjoyed flying at night. There's something about being up in the air as the sky darkens around you. I especially enjoy flying west into the sunset. It seems to take forever for that great big ball of light to dip below the horizon. And, since there's not a lot to do on the plane, other than the business of transporting me and my gear to another location, it's a great time to let my thoughts wander. And tonight, my thoughts are wandering in the directions of the future.

Earlier today, we were talking about how far aviation came in such a short time. In the span of less than 70 years, less than a lifetime, humans went from not being able to sustain powered, controllable flight to putting a man on the moon. It's amazing, when you think about it, But, then, in the next 35 (ish, yeah, I'm rounding) years, we haven't accomplished even half that much when it comes to aviation and space travel. I understand that priorities are different, and there's no cold war to win. The world's a different place. But part of me wonders if we haven't lost something, as a people, when we quit striving for more and more innovation in the fields of aviation and space exploration. Perhaps we have. Perhaps not. History is always studied in hindsight, while it must be lived without knowing what tomorrow will bring. But, especially since I've been surrounded and immersed in the space and rocket culture for the past week, I can't help but wonder where we could be in 10 or 20 years, if the space exploration once became and international priority.

And I think that's part of the point of Space Camp. There's a couple of signs mounted on buildings throughout the Space and Rocket Center that say "Through these doors walk the future astronauts, scientists and engineers". And that's true in many cases. I went to camp as a kid (multiple times) and now I design military airplanes. And I work with others who have also gone. There are astronauts in the astronaut corp who attended camp as kids. And I wonder what the kids who were at camp this week, and this summer will do when they grow up. Will they lead the nation and the world to more space exploration? Will they held design the next generation of aircraft and satellites? Will they walk on Mars and figure out ways to expand our reach into the heavens? I'd like to think so.