All,
I’m sure you have your science fiction favorites. Whether it be the fantastic and whimsical world of Star Wars, the feuding families and expansive universe of Dune, or the thrilling action and exploration of Dr. Who or any other science fiction classic for that matter, there seems to be a common characteristic. The ease at which people in these worlds are able to travel through space.
For instance, in Star Wars: A New Hope, we begin on the twin-sunned desert planet of Tatooine. There we find our hero, Luke Skywalker, and the old wizard, Ben Kenobi searching for a way to leave the desert planet to rendezvous with rebellion leader Princess Leia. They eventually find passage aboard the Millennium Falcon piloted by the dashing Han Solo and his partner Chewbacca. From there they leave the desert planet for Alderaan, Princess Leia’s homeworld.
Now by this point in the film, the audience has suspended their disbelief to the point where wizards, laser swords, and even blue milk is pretty normal, so a ship like the Millennium Falcon leaving Tattooine’s atmosphere like a hot knife passing through butter is pretty normal. Unless of course, you think about it a little more.
The science of how these ships are able to leave an atmosphere so quickly is never really explained in the film. And come to think of it, the Millenium Falcon leaves a lot of planets in a similar fashion and with relative ease. Are we supposed to believe that the atmospheres, gravity and all other forces that affect space travel are the same? I don’t think so.
Of course, when Star Wars premiered in 1977, no one was thinking this. They were probably thinking about how awesome the effects were or how scary Darth Vader was. But maybe some people were thinking some of the fantastical elements of the film could one day be reality.
Flash forward to today and believe it or not we have some of those elements from the original film. A few weeks ago, Disney revealed a video of a prototype of a real working lightsaber which will be on display at DisneyWorld. Check out the video below!
But what about commercial space travel? I am reminded of what Adam Kall told me about Earth’s atmosphere.
“Once you leave Earth’s atmosphere you are halfway to anywhere in the universe.”
Of course, it is incredibly difficult to leave Earth’s atmosphere and the idea of having commercial space travel seems like something straight out of a science fiction classic like Star Wars or Doctor Who. That hasn’t stopped companies like Virgin Galactic from trying to break into the commercial space travel realm. And this past weekend Virgin Galactic made a critical first step.
Virgin Galactic successfully launched the first of four space test flights before it brings on real customers and the future of the next three tests are looking good based on the weekend’s results.
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier told CNBC the spaceflight “was flawless” and said he looked forward to the Federal Aviation Administration reviewing the flight data. The company needs to clear two remaining regulatory milestones before receiving a key license.
According to a recent CNBC article, Virgin Galactic plans on launched flights with passengers by early 2022 promising to give customers an experience like no other.
This advancement in space travel can open doors for tourism and exploration. Maybe one day the price of admission on one of these flights will be affordable to the masses. It may not look as easy or effortless as the millennium falcon but it sure is something to behold.
We are one step closer to the future. All I need now is a lightsaber and a glass of blue milk.
Jacob Czopek