Liftoff for the Space Shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, photo by NASA
Hard to believe it was 25 years ago when the first space shuttle blasted off into the stratosphere, literally. I was 10 and thought "I'm going to fly in outer space one day." Fueled by Star Trek reruns and later by Kim Stanley Robinson's vision for the colonization of Mars, I assumed that intergallactic travel would be mastered by my 30's. Perhaps I'd write a play in space - not set in space, but composed on my Apple II+ (I was a Mac head even then...) while riding on a more posh version of the Space Shuttle. Now I'll need to save up the $200,000 for a quick passenger jaunt in an updated SpaceShipOne, or I could cough up $20 million for a 10-day stay on the International Space Station by way of Russia (hey - I already speak the language!). But with that kind of cash, I can make a movie (or 20). Hopefully, this one.
