John Baick is a professor of history at Western New England University in Springfield, MA.
Yuri Gagarin prepares for the first manned space flight on April 12, 1961
April 12th marks the 60th anniversary of the first manned space flight and the 40th anniversary of the first American space shuttle launch. Those birthdays could go by without much fanfare, but since NASA is hoping to bring the first woman to the moon by 2024 Artemis MissionAmericans might want to wonder how much the miracle of space exploration has faded in just six decades – and so has confidence in science and our institutions with it.
In many ways, the era of American space travel will seem like a foreign land, even to those who once lived there. It was a time when massive government spending on new projects and bureaucracies was not only trivial but also exciting. It was a time when the public sector and the private sector were not only closely linked, but the public sector and the government leader dominated and no one thought of calling it socialism. It was a time when we implicitly trusted our government.
The space program symbolized our incredible confidence in our government and science. The scourge of polio had just been overcome when Sputnik brought new fear into our lives, and our reliance on government and scientists to protect us was natural. Americans listened breathlessly to the reports of an American scientist with an incredibly heavy German accent and a name that suggests he had recently immigrated, Wernher von Braun. His rehabilitation from Nazi to German-American was a simple matter of exposing our disbelief, which was easy because we trusted our institutions. Whether it was curing polio or conquering space, Americans believed the men in the white coats would lead the way to a better future. Despite the overwhelming advances in pandemic research, America’s faith in science is far from in the prime of the 1950s / 60s.
the Challenger Tragedy destroyed our dreams, but more than three decades later, there is little evidence that America is ready to trust the science of space travel again, or even take it seriously.
Today we do not have the patience to take the advice of scientists in the face of the greatest health crisis America has ever known. We don’t have the political will to make investments that will pay off in the future. So how can we delay our satisfaction in order to make the smart and patient investments the space program needs? John F. Kennedy made a promise 1962 kept NASA 1969, right under the wire. What promises will Americans make about our future?
I think a lot of Americans, if asked to think about the future of space travel, would think of Elon Musk and maybe Virgin Galactic – both of which have a certain futuristic flair and a lot of profit. The incredible image of the earth in space, the “great blue marble” of December 7, 1972, briefly united a world divided by cold wars and hot wars, a world plagued by the prospect of famine and impending disease. This image reminded us that we were all united. This show may soon be available to the winning bidder as a selfie background. It remains to be seen if a famous influencer could have the same gravity as an astronaut. It will not be easy to remember our common humanity and the wonder of science.
Space Tourism and Space Hotels, a space entrepreneur who seems to be part of Tony Stark and PT Barnum – that’s what Americans think about the future of space. As the private sector focuses on frivolity such as Send a Tesla into spaceScientists, mathematicians and engineers trudge along, map trajectories, design the spaceship and software, and wait for the stars to align again. Astronauts train and dream of the chance to climb.
Our missile specialists are some of the brightest people in the world. Instead of getting rich – and noting that the parking lots at their workplaces aren’t filled with fancy cars – they use their genius to move humanity further than before. What about the astronauts? They are rocket scientists and superheroes. The best of the best in many physical, mental and emotional categories. You risk your life for the dream of exploring. They were famous names and international heroes. Maybe it can be them again.
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