I Credit Hollywood

Hans Cummings

November 28, 2012

Hollywood has made many missteps over the years, and some say they are now (and have been for some time) bereft of creativity, but I do credit the vision of several people in Hollywood with exciting my passion for space and space exploration. As a small child, I remember watching re-runs of Star Trek. For a long time, that optimistic vision of Gene Roddenberry was my vision of the future. Star Wars got me excited about the endless array of adventures possible in a space setting, and finally, The Right Stuff showed me that there was plenty of excitement to be had in learning about real life space exploration. I watched shuttle launches, I visited Redstone Arsenal and Cape Canaveral. I wanted to become an astronaut so I could join the real heroes of modern day exploration in their quest for knowledge. My path has not led me to that end, but I explore space now through others and try to bring some of the joy and wonder I have about discovery in my writing. I hope I can inspire the next generation of explorers.