Member-only story
Childhood Fantasies Come True: SpaceX and the Final Frontier
Darn! I’m too old for Space Force
Inspired by Star Trek, Apollo 11, and homemade ice-cream
Space travel is no longer relegated to the realms of Science Fiction or the weird visions of scientists. Crazy writers and rabid dreamers are not the only ones who now see outer space as accessible territory.
The stuff of imagination — childhood dreams, television shows, and movie hits — is quickly becoming a reality.
I was an 8-year-old child of Star Trek, fascinated by the idea of walking on different planets and wandering through different civilizations. My psyche was permanently affected by our family’s Friday-night-and-popcorn viewings of Star Trek. Yes, I was wowed by Captain Kirk, intimidated by Spok, and envious of Lt. Uhura’s costumes, but it was the lure of “the final frontier” that took hold. After the first few episodes of Star Trek, I often fantasized about sitting in a rocket waiting for blast-off to some other world, torn between fear and a new future.
The first moon landing happened when I was 11. Our whole family crammed into our tiny family room, watching the fuzzy pictures. My old, white-haired, wrinkly-faced Maw-Maw clapped her hands in delight, exclaiming,
