Letter: The only way to progress is to go up

The Space Race of the 1960s provided the platform for the greatest era of technological progress in our country’s history. This culminated in the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, arguably humanity’s greatest achievement. Yet, now that space technology has advanced so far to be used by the super rich of our society, they are being criticized for using it. To some, the recent suborbital flights performed by Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX have been nothing more than the ultra rich flaunting their power and wealth on a scale never seen before, but I see it in a different light. To me these flights have shown the public that commercial space travel is just over the horizon. This could directly lead to another technological boom, like the one that occurred in the 1960s, which is the most exciting prospect of all. For the first time in human history, we are looking to escape our planet’s gravitational pull. It is exceedingly likely that when the first manned capsule lands on the red planet and a human sets foot on another planet for the first time, they will have arrived on a lander made by SpaceX, Blue Origin or another privately owned company. These first few suborbital steps are the building blocks that will lead humans to Mars. So instead of opposing technological progression, it should be embraced and welcomed. After all, the only way to progress is to go up.

Alex Ladeau

Crystal Lake