Whenever I’m near Dulles, I make time to visit the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center to see the Space Shuttle Discovery. It’s a breathtaking sight, and gives me chills whenever I’m around it.
There’s nothing more inspiring than this marvel of engineering that made recurring trips to space more routine. Weekdays are best to visit. Few people at the center means more unobstructed views of the ship.
I’ve been watching For All Mankind on Apple TV. The alternate history show postulates what our past and present would look like if the space race never ended. The Moon, Mars and beyond were all in our reach by 2003. Walking around the space shuttle, I lament that fiction isn’t our reality.
There are whole worlds among the stars for us to discover. I really hope one day our curiosity sparks the kind of innovation the fear of the Cold War did, pushing us to new achievements without the need for conflict.
