circle-cropped (6)

Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois

Dawn of a New Era

With the end of the Inspiration4 mission this evening, the final frontier now beckons to all of us. While Branson and Bezos now look like a pair of pikers for taking their 60 mile joyrides, Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Procotor, and Chris Sembroski walked out of their Dragon Capsule and into the history books after three days on orbit.


And the world will never be the same.


No longer do you have to be a military pilot, a doctor, or a PhD with years of education and specialized training to access space. No longer do you have to pass multiple medical, physical, and psychological tests to leave the planet. Like the town crier, the blacksmith, and the video store clerk, the job title of astronaut will soon be retired as more of us plan our vacations on the other side of the von Karman line. 


I, for one, can't wait.