Hoist

Sputnik!

It's been 50 year's since the first tentative steps into space. Within 10 years, we were almost on the moon. And in the 40 since then, we've... put some millionaires into space. And former members of boy bands! Truly, the Space Age has delivered on all of it's promise. A very cool anniversary, but bittersweet considering how much progress has slowed.

Though perhaps that assessment is unfair. There was widespread knowledge of the Americas in Europe by the late 15th century, but settlement did not begin in earnest until more than 100 years later. And space is quite a bit more inhospitable than, say, Massachusetts. But the degree to which progress has plateaued is disappointing. In fact, there seems to have been regression in the field of human exploration. Any return to the moon and points beyond will entail a lot of rework, as we redevelop capabilities that were allowed to wither away.

There has been great progress via telepresence, robotic probes and the like. The two Mars rovers are doing fantastic work, inspiring as well as meaningful scientifically. And if the point of exploring space is to just gather data, then that is enough. But my feelings hew closer to the old doctrine of Manifest Destiny. Albeit without the sinister overtones of conquest. It's just, moving off of Earth is what comes next. It's a gut feeling more than a reasoned position.

Looking back at Sputnik, how it was almost an afterthought to the development of ICBMs, you are struck at how small ideas, a cheap transmitter beeping in orbit for 3 weeks, can galvanize the whole world. I like that - there are so few truly iconic, world changing moments in history, and today marks the anniversary of one of the big ones.