It's the end of the Space Age, but it's not the end of the age of space. Why? Because the end of the age of space will only come with the end of the age of humanity. We're not there yet. I can fully understand why someone born at a certain time would believe this; it's difficult not to view the present day as the finish line, the be all end all. But, of course, it isn't. Some of the things he wrote in 2011 are already proving false. The future is in motion, as ever. EDIT: and some of them, like this -- -- are extremely misinformed. Good read, though.Mind you, I’m not cheering. Though I realized some years ago that humanity isn’t going to the stars—not now, not in the lifetime of our species—the end of the shuttle program with no replacement in sight still hit me like a body blow. It’s not just a generational thing, though it’s partly that; another large part of it was growing up where and when I did.
The United States kept its empire intact, and as a result it has continued that futile but obsessive fight, stripping its national economy to the bare walls in order to prop up a global military presence that will sooner or later bankrupt it completely.