It's amazing to think that exactly 50 years ago, humankind sent their first victory into space. Failure had struck so many times and finally (ah!) success. What an amazing day for every adventurer.
I can almost imagine what it must have been like: a piece of carefully prepared technology being launched into the unforgiving depths of space. How small it must have seemed against the massive landscape of space! That poor little Sputnik had to fight the forces of nature: those dueling pressures of the great masses that make their homes in the ocean of stars and vacuum. It's amazing that it survived. Space is so alive and turbulent. How could such a tiny piece of humanity's handiwork survive such a wilderness? It is a miracle. Every successful mission into space is a miracle. Perhaps miracles are not as rare as we think.
It must have been very much like the day Columbus finally saw the shores of the Americas (even though he was a bit confused at that time and didn't know it was the Americas). Space is this century's Atlantic; we have ventured, slowly but steadily, into it and gone a bit further each time. Sputnik was only the beginning. We have yet to write the end of the story. We've circled the Earth, landed on the moon, and sent probes into deep space. I guess our next stop is Mars. It's only a matter of time!
Today's the day to celebrate good old Sputnik. He's 50 this year and that's quite an accomplishment: half a century! What will we have done when he's 100 years old? Only time can tell us that.
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