Week 5 of 52: The Right Stuff by Tom Wolf

I don’t know anyone who grew up in the 70’s or 80’s who wasn’t in love with the idea of going to space.
Of being an astronaut.

There was a handful of my friends who’s parents lamented got to experience the ultimate dream of all children of that time, packaged &  presented by Space Camp.

We were going to live on the moon
& travel to mars & beyond.
It was going all Ray Bradbury & Space Odessy when we grew up.

And then, in 1986, the Challenger blew up before our eyes.
In less than 20 seconds we witnessed just how delicate our dreams were, perched atop of those giant rockets; just how much risk was involved in our vissons of the future.
And most of us turned to other futures.
Most, much more terestrial in nature.
Hover boards & solar cars.

We had somehow forgotten, with all the fanfare & celebrity, that to leave the earth was an act of violence.
That every departure from earth’s surface required a whole lot of engineering & science and then, perhaps, something else.
Something a little bit magical.
Something mythical, really.

The test pilots, the first to leave the ordinary bounds of this earth, never missed this.
They had a name for it.
And it came with code of silence.
Never take claim of it aloud.
Never take it for granted.

A pilot either had it or they didn’t.
And it could be lost at any point.
But it was the thing that made all the difference.

The initial seven who were chosen for Project Mercury were selected in part for this mythical, right stuff.
They were first American to travel into space.
The first astronauts.
And celebrities of the day.

The nation revered them as heroes.
Sure they were hot shots, play boys, & arrogant boy scouts- but they were willing to sit atop of giant rockets and be shot into space so we loved them.

Born from their bravery, were the inspirations of new technologies, new images of the future, & new areas to dominate over the Russians. ;-)

What we didn’t realize until the Challenger was their largest, most unspoken, accomplishment;
they didn’t die in the process.

Given how public the early space program was & how often the rockets attached to their crude crafts exploded,
(and how important a successful moon landing was to the Kennedy administration)
its a miracle that the early space program (and NASA in particular) made it through those early days at all.

That the space program flourished & permeate popular culture as it did in the late 70s & 80s;
that these men still are remembered & revered,
is as much a testimate to the science as it is to that mythical,
right stuff.