Space Fascism: The dreams of a generation reduced to "ugh"

All my life I have had a love of space and the stars. It developed when my father first taught me the names of all 9 planets when I was 3 or 4. When I was 6 I watched Armstrong step off the LEM onto the moon. I had high hopes for the Apollo program and was disappointed when it ended. I remember Apollo-Soyuz and Skylab. Watching the Viking launch was a bright spot in a rather boring adolescence. Seeing the photos later was really special to me. The shuttle and the space station...well they're in space and appear to be about all we've got.

Most of this stuff, the programs, astronauts and all...most of it is government funded. For years we've heard talk of privately funded space programs. Efforts so far have been intriguing and I look forward to more from people like Branson and Rutan. The problem with privatisation is when the shift happens. That is the point at which a massive corporation assumes the funding of space travel.

If you watch science fiction, from the best to the worst, there is always "the company" involved. It's troubling that the cost is so high that only big players can participate longterm. I don't want our first manned interplanetary trip turned into a reality show. And that's probably what will happen. We're already being pre-programmed with movies like the 2009 Virtuality where the first interstellar mission has a host with a camcorder in everyone's face. I started making the gag sign as soon as I realised what they were doing. I'll post a review later.