The day has finally arrived. The dreams of children everywhere have become increasingly more probable. In the past, there was only one path to greatness. Now, there are many. Today we celebrate the end of an era and the start of something new. Get excited everyone. Get very excited.
The landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis not only brings home the last four NASA Astronauts from space, it also brings with it the end of an era. One that spanned 30 years and captivated the Country with it's stories of success and tragedy time after time. With this door closing around 23,000 people will lose their jobs. However, it's the job opportunities that are about to open that excite me.
The race to the Moon will now be opened up to private firms. Oh yes, the possibilities for our youth are now endless. No longer do you need to go through all the schooling and hard work of NASA Astronauts. With private firms running the show, any little brat with shit-loads of money can buy a seat on the next flight off the Earth. These companies will have the smart people making the decisions that matter, but as far as the passengers go. Money will be the determining factor here. Google has already sponsored a race to the moon with a deadline of December 2015. It's for an un-manned aircraft landing but that's the tip of the iceberg. One company already has lofty plans to become the Official Fed-Ex to the moon. It will only be a matter of time until the first civilian shells out the cabbage required to take the ultimate trip. And as far as I'm concerned, if you go into Outer Space, you're an Astronaut. So you kids out there better get excited. All you have to do to become an Astronaut is pay for a ticket.
Just think how this impacts the next generation. There are now hundreds of ways to become an Astronaut. Any path you take, as long as it ends with crazy amounts of money, can land you a trip into Space. It will also give you the ability to use one of the greatest pick-up lines ever; "Hello, I'm an Astronaut." Also, back to the job opportunities, private firms are going to need to hire big to make something like this happen. New and exciting positions that work on programs to get back to the Moon sound pretty interesting to me. With all the talk about the bad economy, the debt crisis, sports drama and increasingly worse reality TV, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It looks a lot like privatized travel into Outer Space.
This is where it starts. Do you know where it ends? It ends with us eventually inhabiting the Moon. It sounds a little crazy now but you'd be crazy to think it's not a possibility. I can't wait for the day I get a Hand-job for a Ham Sandwich behind the dimly lit 7-11 on the dark side of the Moon. A man can dream right?
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