To boldly go...

What makes humankind look to the stars, create machines, and visit them? What makes familykind look to Orlando, drive fifty miles, and visit the launch pad? Today we visited the Kennedy Space Center.

The Endeavour waits on its lonely launchpad, raised above the dense Florida forest like a beacon of American freedom, or so they think. I would have to agree. The pride NASA has, not only in their work, but in the work for our future, is a pride we can all share. "How many pay taxes?" our bus driver asked. We all raised our hands. "This is all possible because of you."

Our first visit was the past missions, Gemini, which is my (Pete's) personal favorite. To get there, we wandered past tall, empty rockets, standing like totem poles, or empty beacons of days gone by. Inside, we were treated to Kennedy's solemn reminder of a promise to send a man to the moon, land, and
return him safely to Earth. It worked, of course, but the technology, as we're constantly reminded, lacked the computer memory of a calculator.

A lecture from a scientist came next, about Wednesday's launch that is now threatened by the delayed Endeavour. Wednesday's launch is a high-tech camera to take hi-res pictures of the moon, all in preparation for the return to the moon, this time for colonization by 2020. Her snide comments about the current administration in the White House caught our attention. More on that later.

We then took a bus to several of NASA's highlights, where we saw the Endeavour, then to the Saturn building. The Saturn building recreated a launch from inside the launch room, then we visited the Saturn rocket, laying on it's side. If I jogged an eight minute mile, it would take 20 or 30 seconds to run from tail to tip. Try it sometime. All to blast into space a pod no bigger than most entertainment centers.

Then to the working quarters for the International Space Center. America's interest in the station is waning...

After a 3-D I-Max, we raced to a decommissioned shuttle. Huge, but the new Constellation class shuttle will be even bigger. Cool.

And as far as funding, it may not be there for NASA, in fact, the president hasn't picked a leader for the space program yet. What has he done? NASA doesn't know.

We came away with more knowledge about space, its exploration, and the vastness God created. But now that I think of it, it's not pride NASA or America feels. As each mission thunders into the bright blue of Florida's sky, we know just a bit more, and yes, it's okay to swell a bit with awe. But not pride. A wall of those who sacrificed their lives in the cause reminds all what pride can lead to. And that, in the end, is worth driving fifty miles to see.