Where No Man Has Gone Before?

(Not Exactly)

by Hank Silverberg

(Friendship7 launch, NASA photo)

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn lifted off in Friendship 7 from Cape Canaveral. His three orbits around the Earth was a seminal event for the Boomer generation. We watched the progress of the Mercury and Gemini programs from then on, often on TV and in the classroom, with focused fascination. 

As the space program moved into Apollo and the Moon landings throughout the late 60's and 70's, we firmly believed that humankind would be on Mars early in the 21st century. This was reinforced by popular media such as Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek and Robert Heinlein's The Martian Chronicles. 

As the Cold War ended, and with it the national security implications of space travel, interest from the public waned. After the Challenger (1986) and Columbia (2003) disasters and the deaths of our heroes, the 14 astronauts on board the two space crafts, we reassessed whether space travel was too costly in lives and dollars. The space shuttle program was put in moth balls in 2011 after 135 missions. Mars looked too far away. 

It was left to private industry to pick up the expenses for the science that the government would no longer bankroll.  

The International Space Station remains the only remnant of John F. Kennedy's vision of "the greatest adventure on which mankind has ever embarked." 

So I am encouraged this week by the launch of a joint NASA/Space-X mission which took four astronauts to the ISS. The taxpayers are getting more bang for their buck with a spacecraft which will reuse significant parts, including the rocket boosters. It had been hoped that such a mission and future ones would eliminate the need for the United States to pay $91 million to the Russians to shuttle American astronauts to the Space Station, but there will be at least one more such mission despite this weekend's public/private launch.

https://techcrunch.com/2020/11/15/watch-spacex-launch-its-historic-first-nasa-astronaut-crew-mission-live/

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, are on the Dragon spacecraft's mission. 

In the meantime, NASA still exists and the agency is still shooting for a manned mission to Mars sometime in the 2030's, where no human has gone 

world is threatened after scientists discover huge atomic bomb-generated giant ants in the southwestern desert.  After the first nest is destroyed, the plot focuses on the effort to find two huge flying queen ants. If they get away, the world is doomed. But they are eventually found and destroyed in the Los Angeles sewer system. 

It's a far-fetched movie, but I was reminded of it this week when scientists finally tracked down and destroyed a nest of the invasive "Murder Hornet." After investigating, the entomologists discovered more than 200 queen hornets in the nest, including 76 that were still alive. They say that was good news.

https://www.wtnh.com/news/national/destruction-of-murder-hornets-nest-doesnt-end-threat/

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/close-200-queen-murder-hornets-205731676.html

(Sciencealert.com)

While the "Murder Hornet" is no direct threat to human beings, their potential to destroy our food supply is a clear danger. The insects ferocious attacks on the humble bumblebee, which pollinates many food crops which we eat is a danger. They also have an impact on other food sources like cattle, which feed on the endangered  crops. The scientists believe they have found all the queens, but admitted there is a possibility some have escaped. It was the same warning which ended the low-grade Sci-Fi movie. Stay tuned.....

https://www.wtnh.com/news/national/destruction-of-murder-hornets-nest-doesnt-end-threat/

And then there is this:

You have probably read a great deal about the election results. I won't dwell on the nonsense surrounding the vote count. Joe Biden has won the election. The only place that is not apparent is inside Donald Trump's mind. What bothers me more is the complicity of the Republican leadership and key Republican senators. I can't blame the thousands of Trump loyalists who continue to hold onto a glimmer of hope amidst the reality of defeat. But Senators Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham and others who enable Trump are going to lead the Republican party to extinction. They simply can't claim that their re-election and their gains over in the House were done with legal voting and then imply that somehow Mr. Biden's win was fraudulent. How stupid do they think the American people are?

The map below is now ingrained in the minds of every American, even those who supported Trump, though they don't want to admit it. Let them have a pass. Concentrate your indignation at the failure of Mr. Trump to lead to a smooth transition and the harm it is doing to our national security and our battle against a deadly pandemic.

InterActive here: 

https://abcnews.go.com/Elections/2020-us-presidential-election-results-live-map

It's the Republican party which bears the responsibility for that!

           (Your comments and suggestions are welcome.)  

(Copies of my book "The Campaign" are availble at:

  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796

Or by emailing me at HankSilverberg@gmail.com  or 

instructions on how to get one at a reduced price and with a signature)