Space the Final Frontier

Orion Capsule
Orion Capsule

“Space, the final frontier” is what was said in the opening moments of Star Trek the television series and this past week the United States for the first time since 1981 (NASA) has launched into orbit a prototype man capable capsule. The Orion space capsule atop a Delta 4 booster is capable of getting humans to Mars and represents the next step in manned space flight. By the way the capsule has returned to earth undamaged.

What has Star Trek got to do with space flight, well while we do not yet possess Warp drive or anything like it we are exploring things that were science fiction not that long ago. For instance there is work on a hibernation system that would allow humans to travel great distances without the need of a long term environmental support system, food gallery or exercise equipment. All of which take up space and are power drains. The use of hibernation is right out of the pages of science fiction! What will they next make come true, a Star Trek Transporter maybe?

How does this affect my life you might be thinking? Well for one thing the computer/tablet/cell phone you are using to read this blog directly owes its development to the space program. Many of the things we use daily were either directly or indirectly a result of NASA’s race to get to the Moon with Russia, then known as the Soviet Union. Without this space race many electronic devices would either have never been created or even thought of.

A good example is the Integrated Circuit which lead to the development of the CPU (central processing unit) chip used in many everyday items. While the Integrated Circuit was developed before the Moon Race started it was born during the early days of the Space Race. Such companies as Apple would not exist today without it, as would Microsoft and many of other companies. The CPU is essential in so many things that we can not do without it and it would not exist without the development of the Integrated Circuit!

Many companies have come and gone since the Space Race began, some being Fairchild, TI (Texas Instruments), DEC, Data General, Motorola and many other that have faded into history. While TI is still around it is a shadow of itself and Motorola is no longer what it was in the 1960s and 70s.

Enough of my geeky memories and let us travel on into the future. What good would a manned mission to Mars to for humanity? You never know what new and useful things might come out of it. Just look back and the race to be the first on the moon created so many useful spinoffs. So just let your imagination go wild, as they did when Star Trek was written. One thing that looks like it is coming true is the cloaking device the Klingon/Romulans used to make their spaceships invisible. There is real progress in making such a device. It would bend light around the object/thing that you want to be invisible. It will be a remarkable achievement when it is becomes a practicable item and as of this September there is a working device made by researchers at the University of Rochester! Move over Romulans and Harry Potter science has transformed science fiction into reality.

Enough for now with more to come in the future-

That is my opinion – Jumpin Jersey Mike
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