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The World War II years and beyond (continued)
The space program
The goal of the early space program was to put a man into space and go to the moon. [To be fair, it was also set in the heart of the Cold War, and much of the impetus to build these technologies was to develop better and more aggressive defense platforms. --DG]
Towards these goals, the Mercury, Gemini, and later, Apollo programs were set in motion. In addition, many technical satellites were put into space for communication, photography and other scientific endeavors. The satellites put into space for Global Positioning System (GPS) have changed aviation (and even land-based) navigation significantly.
The International Space Station is a small city being built in space to enable long-term scientific exploration of space and research in both life sciences, and materials developments in a nearly gravity-free environment. The Space Station is a joint effort between a number of countries. In the planning stages for years, construction began with launch of the U.S. owned Russian built Zarya control module on November 20, 1998, from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan.
Many new, advanced products that we use today in our everyday life have been developed as a direct result of trying to find ways to get man and the needed hardware into space. All of these technological developments have changed the lives of people all over the world.
Nothing is beyond our reach today.
As we celebrate the wonders of 100 years of flight, we all give thanks for all the amazing things that powered flight has brought into our lives. Let us now look toward the future and the next 100 years. Only the heavens know what that might bring to our world, but I am sure that it will be as exciting as the past 100 years. We are limited only by our imagination and our dreams. Follows your dreams!
About this series
This week, we're running fifteen articles celebrating the anniversary of flight across all our magazines. Be sure to read them all; they are each quite exceptional:
Next week, we resume our regular coverage.
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Mardell Haskins is a 65 years old widow with 8 children, 25 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren. She lives on Lake Mead near Overton, Nevada, is a cross country air race pilot and retired construction heavy equipment operator, and a member of The Ninety-Nines, International Organization of Women Pilots. She works with students and has a Scout Aviation Explorer Unit in Overton. She's the Founder and Chairman of Overton Airport Day (10 years) which gives free airplane rides to students, ages 8-17 called Young Eagles Flights. They have flown over 1,000 students. Mardell also does a lot of speaking at schools and organizations. She'll be speaking at a math forum for girls ages 8-10 in Erie, Penn in May. Mardell Haskins has organized women pilots groups for 99s in Brazil, Hungary, and Germany. She does a lot of international travel for the 99s and will be flying in a race in New Zealand in March and April of 2004.
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