OPINION:
The U.S. Space Force, following a brief glitch with ground support equipment, launched its first mission out of Cape Canaveral, Florida — a national security satellite valued at about $1 billion.
Finally, a ray of hope, a nod to American greatness among the coronavirus gloom and doom.
“Nothing stops the space launch mission!” the 45th Space Wing tweeted in the lead-up to the launch.
The satellite, according to Time magazine, is the sixth and final of the military’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency series. And advanced is right; its distance for giving a secure communications’ line is 22,000 miles.
This is a historical moment in American time.
It’s the first Space Force launch; it’s the first time a Space Force seal — by way of the United Launch Alliance rocket — has been used for official launch purposes; and it’s probably the first time in U.S. space-race history that the control room has been so clean, so quickly, post-launch, and the viewing site has been so empty, so devoid, of, well, viewers.
“Can’t quite get 6 ft [social distancing] everywhere,” tweeted United Launch Alliance chief executive Tony Bruno, about the banning of nonessential personnel from the control room and the banning of crowds from the liftoff viewing area, Time reported. “Surfaces will be cleaned between people, etc.”
Bruno didn’t even make it to the launch site. He monitored from Denver.
All that aside — it’s a great moment for America. A historic moment; a moment of optimism.
Whenever America goes to space, it’s a time to reflect on the magnificence of science, the soaring power of the human spirit, the vastness and greatness of God’s creations, the sheer wonder of the world and man’s place in the world, and the might and majesty of the dream.
The awesomeness of America’s scientific discoveries.
This is the first time a satellite’s been launched into the skies under the heading of the U.S. Space Force.
And coronavirus be danged — it’s a time of joy and wonder.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.
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