On Sputnik

Fifty years ago today the Russians launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite. Humanity made its first tentative step into space.

I don’t have anything profound to say, unfortunately. I wonder what the kids of 1957 imagined the future would be. The moon, Mars, the stars? Well, we got to the moon, then came back.

Humanity will become a spacefaring culture. The need to explore, the need to expand… those are wired into our genes. We’ll get off this lump of rock, we’ll plant the flag on distant worlds. It’s inevitable. Maybe not soon. But it will happen.

Sputnik I started the process.

So lift a glass of vodka today and toast the Russians for their accomplishment. They made humanity a spacefaring people.

Sputnik! 🙂

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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