"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved." -- Confucius

Monday, October 04, 2004

Oct 4th, an Eventful Day for Space Exploration...

October 4th, 1957 - The USSR launches Sputnik I into orbit, raising the bar in the "space race".

October 4th, 2004 - Pioneer with the Mercury program, Gordon Cooper dies at age 77.

Also on Oct. 4th, 2004 the team of SpaceShipOne wins the X Prize by launching a privately funded, privately built manned craft into space. To win the prize, the craft had to break Earth's atmosphere and then do it again in a two week timeframe.

The team of SpaceShipOne pulled off both flights in less than a week.

Hooray the team of SpaceShipOne! Even though the name is frighteningly... well... dull.

Hooray America! Land of the free, home of the brave, and birthplace of innovation.

And hooray capitalism! Gotta love NASA, but no governmental agency can hold a candle to the creative might and speed of free market insentives.


posted by Ohms @ 9:00 PM   |