Day 74
I’ve always been excited to get on an airplane. Even just going to the airport to pick someone up, or drop them off, I get to revel in a few moments of ‘going places’ energy. Even the exhausted people in airports tired because they’re going somewhere. Or because they are somewhere.
When I’m actually on the airplane, I turn into a cheerleader. It’s all I can do not to get out my pom poms and start a chant the moment we lift off, or go down the aisle doing high kicks to celebrate reaching our cruising altitude. I get scolded for using my window seat to look out the window, when, in the minds of the flight attendants, it’s obviously time for everyone to shut their window covers and sleep. (I don’t sleep on airplanes. We’ve been through the reasons I don’t nap).
It hadn’t really occurred to me until today that, barring something unfortunate, I won’t be going on any airplanes for a good long time, unless I win so much in the lottery that private jets come into the picture.
I was thinking about that because tomorrow is nominally the day when SpaceX will launch its first crew into space. Following space events has been my “thing” for the last 15 years, and really the last 40, if you’re counting. Since I heard in 2004 about this crazy man who was using the money he made selling his share of PayPal to start a rocket company, I’ve been following them closely, captivated.
In 2004, it was understood that orbital rockets were not among the things a startup company could simply decide to build. Building an orbital rocket wasn’t something France could do, and they’re a real country, depending who you ask. It was such a wild plan, I couldn’t believe it was real. So I was watching in 2006 when SpaceX first launched their Falcon 1 (it blew up) and when they tried again (it spun out of control) and again (The two stages reunited after a trial separation. In rockets, that’s a bad thing) and finally reached orbit on their fourth attempt, right on the cusp of bankruptcy. I watched them fly their crazy new rocket with nine engines burning at the same time. I watched them bolt landing legs on it, and start trying to bring stages back to earth, just like in sci-fi. They failed over and over and over, then finally got the hang of it. Now kids grow up in a world where rockets go up to space and come back down to land on their feet, and that’s just normal.
Launching people has been SpaceX’s goal the whole time, and tomorrow, weather permitting, they’re going to launch two NASA astronauts. In the golden days, some past version of me promised himself he’d be in Florida to watch it happen. Present-day me is going to watch it from inside a trailer he named Apollo, after some other rocket.
NASA, who had been hoping millions of people would come watch this launch, is now going out of their way to make sure everyone stays home. Even the senators will have to leave their staffers in Washington. Essential visitors only.
It’s a hallmark of strange days that SpaceX seeks to do its country proud by launching two men into space, while the rest of us will do our country proud by not showing up to watch.
