SpaceX Inspires Awe
Tuesday, February 6th, 2018 was a special moment. The Falcon Heavy made its first successful test flight. It provided an opportunity to see a synchronized landing of both boosters, followed by the Starman, which orbited the Earth in real time. To me, it inspired awe at what humanity can accomplish. Sure, I could ramble on and on about how much money went into the project or poke fun at a car in space, but I won’t.
Think of it this way, Elon Musk has a dream and he's making it real. He's sharing his vision with all of us by live-streaming a car that is the first payload with a humanoid in it. This moment was inspiring for people that have their own dreams. Seeing the Earth with a car floating in the background had me thinking two things: First, look how small we are. Second, look what we can do together! We can reshape the views of the world like no other species before us. We have transcended the planet of our birth in so many ways.
When I think about this moment in the grand scheme of humanity, this is a marker as to what we believe is possible for us to achieve. To people my age, it may seem like a small thing. This is a bit of a tangent to explain why this is a profound moment. came across Tim Urban (waitbutwhy.com), and he wrote an amazing multi-part mega blog post (more like an eBook) explaining everything Elon is trying to do with SpaceX and Tesla. After spending about a week devouring the information, it is now clear to me that both companies deal with projects and goals on a completely different time scale than the average business. They are looking ahead, not just at the five or 10-year plan. They look at the 50-year plan.
SpaceX revealed a plan in September of 2017 that the first cargo mission will be in 2022, only four years away. The next mission is planned for 2024 and will carry the first crew. This is completely insane to think about. On top of this, they unveiled the BFR (Big Fucking Rocket - best codename ever), which will be what takes us to Mars.
That's why this week is important. This kind of event is the type of thing that inspires the next generation to see space and want to be a part of it! This causes the next generation to spend every moment attempting to shape their future to make what inspires them become real. At one point, Tim mentioned that this is the last time Mars won't be a regular talking point. Soon we will be getting news from what's happening in cities on Mars.
By now you're probably sick of my gushing but stop and think about it for a second. Looking at what someone like Elon has accomplished, and how it affects all of us, makes each one of feel is important. Elon is someone who was born in South Africa and immigrated to Canada before coming to the United States. He had nothing to his name expect a dream for something big. He found financial success in the form of PayPal. Once he sold PayPal, he could have walked off into the sunset and left it at that. Instead, he wanted to take what he earned and put his money where his mouth is.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying each one of us must reach for the stars (I cringed a little writing this, but I don't regret it). At the end of the day, whatever you want to do starts in your brain. It's not real until you make it real. A person like Elon is a shining example of what it’s like to have a dream and not give up. At the same time, he has the gift to motivate those around him with a sense of purpose that few others have been able to channel.
As I'm writing this, I feel like it’s okay to think big. Don't go for the modest approach. At the end of the day, if we can make at least one person’s day a little bit better, that’s what it’s all about. We're all a part of one team — Team Humanity.