Future?

Behold: the beginning of commercial space travel. Virgin Galactic's Space Ship Two is a two-stage vehicle that carries the actual space ship (using the term loosely, because it reaches space briefly before falling back to Earth) to a high enough altitude for it to fire its rocket and breach the atmosphere, which hasn't actually happened yet. Here you see the first gliding flight of, yes, the Enterprise and it's interesting mode of controlled re-entry. Once this is opened up to the public, seats will cost $200,000.

Yes, the future is here, and you never thought it would look like this. Turns out it is far less glamorous. Eight people at a time, six passengers, get a quick rocket boost and a couple minutes of weightlessness as they fall back to the same spaceport in New Mexico they launched from. At least for now. Progress is slow.

Will I ever get to travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into the great void, maybe visiting a colony on the Moon, or even Mars? Somehow I doubt it.

You want to know how to employ millions of Americans in a constructive venture to lift the entire country's spirits and our reputation throughout the world? Sink billions of dollars into viable commercial space travel. As always, easier said than done.