As a child growing up in the 1980s, I had already memorized science fiction books from the Golden Age of Science Fiction (1938-1946), especially those by Isaac Asimov. Space always captivated my imagination. The excitement of the moon landing hadn’t fully faded yet, and the newly introduced Space Shuttle fueled dreams of future journeys to space, the moon, and even other planets as reusable space vehicles were a first step towards this vision.
TV shows like Space 1999 further fueled these dreams. For a child in the 80s, the year 2000 was still the “distant future.” Influenced by mid-20th-century sci-fi books, which often depicted the 2000s as a time when people casually traversed space, enjoyed incredible technological advancements, and had widespread use of robots, we believed life in the 21st century would be vastly different.
In some ways, science and technology have surpassed the suggestions of science fiction, especially in the digital realm. Even the most imaginative sci-fi writers of that era couldn’t foresee the development of computers or the everyday use of smartphones. Although, as a child, I did imagine having video calls with a device similar to a smartphone-perhaps I was a bit prescient in that sense.
However, we were quite mistaken about space (and robots). The space dreams of the 20th century, unfortunately, remained just dreams. Significant budget cuts completely halted the rapid progress made during the 1960s’ race to the moon.
Yet, especially in the last decade, exciting developments have been occurring. Now, as a 50-year-old, I am aware that my chances of going to space are almost certainly gone. However, thanks to significant contributions from SpaceX, reusable space vehicles are re-entering our lives (at least for astronauts), and the cost of sending each unit mass of payload to space is continually decreasing.
The rockets and engines that carry spacecraft into orbit are evolving rapidly in terms of reusability, design, and efficiency. Scott Manley on Twitter shared a photo showing the evolution of SpaceX’s Raptor rocket engine over the years. (SpaceX’s super-heavy-lift Starship uses Raptor engines in its Super Heavy booster and in the Starship’s second stage.) It’s amazing to see how the design has simplified and become more aesthetically pleasing over the years. The new engine looks simpler (especially compared to the first model) and seems to be sturdier and easier to maintain.
What do you think? Do you believe we will ever have the chance to ride in a spacecraft powered by a Raptor Engine? Perhaps today’s children will get the chance to go to space, fulfilling the dreams we had as children.
Sources
- Golden Age of Science Fiction on Wikipedia
- SpaceX Raptor on Wikipedia
