X Prize and Gordon Cooper
Oct 4th, 2004 by Moonage
The race for the X Prize is over. SpaceshipOne flew 70 miles straight up and entered “outer space” briefly. Just long enough to claim $10 million. 7 Up is already giving away tickets for some time hopefully in 2005. Richard Branson has already bought SpaceShipTwo and is flying it under the Virgin Galactic brand name. Space tourism is rapidly becoming a reality. Commerce in space will be soon following. Space is becoming something the average man can now dream about.
I don’t know if it’s all a big coincedence or not, but that milestone was reached on the 37th anniversary of Sputnik I. The little ball they called a satellite launched the space race in a furious race to the moon. The technologies spawned from that race totally changed most of the world’s lifestyle. We would have no cell phones, no digital cable, no internet, and no real computers if it hadn’t been for that race.
One of the original astronauts that brought the US to the forefront in that race won’t get to see or enjoy what happened today:
Gordon Cooper was one of the original Mercury Seven. The bravest, baddest, and craziest of the original astronauts. Two movies were made about the heroics of that bunch. To me they were gods when I was a child.
On the 37th anniversary of the event that would lead to his heroics and fame, and the very day the dream of space travel was brought to common man, he passed away. The fate of a god.
