July 20, 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. First, let us recognize the lunar landing as one of the greatest--if not THE greatest--achievements in the history of humankind. It wasn't accomplished via magic, or voodoo, or by spiritual incantations. It was a colossal achievement of the human intellect at its highest level.
In JFK's speech after he took office in 1961, he pledged to the American people that we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. That pledge was fulfilled, as the US Government made the moon landing Priority Number One. No doubt impetus was given to the project by Kennedy's assassination as a testament to his legacy. It also showed the upside to government initiatives. NASA rolled up its sleeves, and with the aide of some of the brightest scientific minds in the country, the moon landing became a reality.
After the moon landing, there was talk of NASA colonizing the moon, and by the end of the 20th century, perhaps accomplishing a manned Mars landing. Exhiliration was in the air. Our national ambition boundless.
Then reality set in. The usual torpor associated with government bureaucracy took over. Rather than taking off into space, we spun our wheels as if stuck in mud. NASA's goals were splintered in numerous directions. Budgets were cut. Political games were played. Those exciting and heroic plans to conquer space gradually fizzled out amidst bureaucratic infighting. The last manned moon landing was on December 7, 1972, nearly a half century ago. Forget colonization. Forgot a Mars landing.
NASA did build a space station and space shuttles. A first step to go where humans had never gone? Not hardly. Today the US no longer has a space station. Instead we share one built by the Russians, our former nemesis. To get there, we have to hitch rides on the spacecraft of our former enemy. If that doesn't indicate the pathetic state of our government space program, I don't know what does.
But do not despair. We may be on the verge of a new era of space exploration, thanks to entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Richard Branson.
Musk, the developer of the Tesla, started Space X in 2012 for the purpose of shipping cargo to the international space station. Musk is now developing spacecraft to fly Mars missions for the purpose of colonization.
Richard Branson is the owner of Virgin Airways and 400 other enterprises. He is developing spacecraft for the express purpose of flying tourists into space. His spacecraft has already made a successful suborbital flight, and he hopes to begin shuttling tourists into space within a year.
What does this all prove? That big, bloated government bureaucracies run by self-serving politicians are no match for free enterprise and the innovative minds that the marketplace spawns. When the lean and hungry compete against the bloated and arrogant, the lean win hands down.
In this case, the frontiers of space will belong to the bold and inventive minds free from the shackles of government.
