Odysseus Spacecraft & Needed Victory Lap

Where were you when man first stepped on the moon’s surface in 1969? NASA says a manned return is delayed until 2026, but a private firm pulled off first US unmanned landing in 50 years. It was no easy feat for a society lost in space.

Beamed NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, “Today for the first time in the history of humanity, a commercial company – an American company – launched & led the voyage up there.” As the WSJ noted, “America is back on the moon” as of Thursday evening because Intuitive Machines developed the Odysseus Spacecraft & found a way to land softly on the lunar surface, when competitors, as well as foreign governments like Russia & Japan, failed. How hard is it to land successfully on the moon, you ask? Explained the paper: “Intuitive Machines has said it designed Odysseus to ease down to the surface, reducing its velocity by about one mile a second to land at a speed of roughly 3 feet a second.” Wow.

Recall how an amazed CBS anchor Walter Cronkite teared up when NASA safely landed Neil Armstrong & Crew. My family, like millions of others around the world, were huddled around our tv set to similarly marvel at what was once thought impossible. How many people it undoubtedly inspired to “shoot for the moon” in their own careers & lives? How “little” some of us seem to have become in our unwoke cancel culture. At least, so far, the internet is not castrating NASA’s chief for including the word “huMANity” in his victory lap.

Davd Soul