In 1959, before the first human spaceflight

The future possibilities of space-travel, which are now left mainly to unfounded fantasy, could be more soberly treated without ceasing to be interesting and could show to even the most adventurous of the young that a world without war need not be a world without adventurous and hazardous glory. To this kind of contest there is no limit. Each victory is only a prelude to another, and no boundaries can be set to rational hope.


Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)
Philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic