Ivisited the Kennedy Space Center in Cocoa Beach, Fla., at least once a year growing up. Touring the museum and the inside of a model space shuttle blew my mind away, although, as a child, I found that eating the freeze-dried astronaut ice cream was always the highlight of the trip.
My grandmother also lived in Cocoa Beach and we would watch the space shuttle launches from her front porch. What child does not dream of becoming an astronaut?
Because of my love of space, my eyes were glued to the television watching Felix Baumgartner skydive from 24 miles above the earth on Oct. 14. After ascending to an altitude of 128,100 feet in a high-altitude balloon, he gently stepped off the capsule to begin his descent back to earth.
After about 40 seconds Baumgartner accelerated enough to break the sound barrier, which has never been done by a free-fall skydiver. It only took about nine minutes for him to land safely on his feet in the New Mexico desert.
In an interview with “The Today Show,” Baumgartner said, “I had an incredible view when I was standing on top of the world, but at the same time you realize everything around is hostile. I thought, ‘I had the privilege to stand here and nobody else was there before.’ When you step off, you’re on the way.”
Before, space was a far-off idea you could only see in photos. Only a select few who trained to be astronauts got to experience the weightlessness and beauty of space. After one advanced math class in high school I knew I did not have what it takes to join those select few.
However, the possibility for the average person to travel to space is slowly becoming a reality. Virgin Galactic has been accepting reservations for SpaceShipTwo since 2005. If you have $200,000 lying around, you too could join aspiring astronauts for a day-long trip to enjoy the silence and weightlessness of space. Some people dream of a vacation to Europe or the Caribbean, but what about being able to gaze over all of those locations from your window?
So maybe a $200,000 flight or jumping out of a capsule faster than the speed of sound is not your thing. In all truthfulness, it is not mine either. The idea that space, the final frontier, is now open for visitors is an astounding concept. Only 43 years ago man first stepped on the moon. Who knows, maybe 43 years from now our grandchildren will attend classes at HIS: Harding in Space.
