The story begins in “The Calculating Stars,” the 2018 novel by Mary Robinette Kowal, when a huge meteor hits earth in 1952. It’s a massive strike, big enough, in fact, in this work of fiction, to threaten the very possibility of human life on this planet.
Some of the highest grossing films in history have involved space in some capacity. However, I have never been a fan of space movies. I don't know what it is about space movies, but I've never found them enticing. Recently, I didn't have many movies rented and 400 Days had been sitting on my shelf for awhile. Begrudgingly, I popped it into the DVD player. It started out relatively how I had anticipated, but very quickly I realized that perhaps I was not watching a space movie after all...or was I?
If you could travel to space, would you?
Many people, including myself, have dreamed about becoming an astronaut and visiting outer space. This past Monday, Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline, brought that dream one step closer to reality. VG's SpaceShipTwo successfully completed its first full-powered test flight and has entered the final phase of development before it begins offering sub-orbital commercial space flight to those who are able to pay the hefty fare (ticket prices starting at $200,000).
