The Clock Has Started

Randall Munroe posted this the other day on his webcomic xkcd.com. 

Today much of the country is celebrating a holiday based on a battle that is a historical footnote (and using it as an excuse to drink a beer that is a close cousin of Aquafina). But something else happened on May 5 that, while it may eventually become a historical footnote itself, still merits far more celebration than it gets. 50 years ago today, Alan Shepard became the first American (and second human) in space.

He also appears on the third step up in Randall's graph above. 

The statistic he graphs should not look like that. It should look more like this:

I am convinced that eventually it will. The only variable is time. In Shepard's words as he lifted off 50 years ago today, the clock has started. He and Gagarin demonstrated that we can leave Earth. We must leave Earth. Only when this:

becomes a meaningful statistic can we ignore the clock Shepard started.

Change Is Coming

I drove out to Pad B today.  I hadn't had a close up look at the pad since demolition began. The difference is amazing.


Today:

Versus October 2009, when Ares 1-X was on the pad:

I realize this is clearing the way for future use (first for Constellation, now as a "21st Century Launch Complex",) but after 30 years of seeing the pad configured for shuttle it's quite eerie.