For the record, I haven’t seen the new Captain America movie. I hear it’s quite good, though. So lets talk about something else that’s very american? Maybe the space shuttle.
It’s over, basically. There is a lot of literature lamenting the retirement of the fleet, mostly because there is no clear successor. At least, no successor that is nearly as cool as the spaceship any child of the eighties grew up admiring. Yes, it’s sad, but let’s actually take a look at some of the designs that will be defining space travel for the next thirty years. Some of the top contenders are outlined in this article from the BBC.
Now, my favorites here are the Dream Chaser and the MPCV. The former is unique among these offerings in that it will land on a commercial runway, and is likely light enough to land at any commercial runway in a pinch. It maybe be superficial, but I see it being a good idea to land it at commercial runways to help expose the space program in more day-to-day settings. Bring space a little closer to home, or at least a little closer to Pearson International. I’m no mission planner, so that’s probably just idle fantasy, but the vehicle is also the most shuttle-like in appearance, which again is more engaging for the public.
The MPCV is nifty in that it aims not only to replicate the functions of the old shuttle in a smaller package, but it’s designed to do more. I mean Mars is still a bit out of reach, it seems, but what they have in principal is a design that can be used to go to orbit, the space-station, or the moon. Wouldn’t it be rad to take the step backward the shuttle retirement represents and go to the moon instead?
Oh and seriously, the guys who named their offering “Space Vehicle?” We’re looking for inspiration, here, guys. Our childhood hero just got put to pasture.
So yeah, space isn’t over, it’s just not going to be playing with the same toys it did as a kid. Now, I’m just as nervous about the privatization of space travel as the next guy, but give a space rocket a chance to impress you, and it’s likely to blow you away.
Ja.