OMG, that would be SOOOOOO cool, to get to see one of those go up!!!! When I was a kid we all crowded, at school, out into the hallway by the principal's office, where they hooked up a TV, to watch the Mercury missions.... I really, really, REALLY wanted to be an Astronaut when I grew up.
I still do.
But alas, that's not happening. As is the solar orbit for the Space Oddity car. Apparently it missed it's trajectory towards Mars and will now continue on out towards the asteroid belt instead of going into orbit between the sun and Mars. (Bet that'll blow the airbags!)
Had totally forgotten about Hitch-hiker's Guide, and was thinking how odd "don't panic" was on the screen.... brings back a lot of good memories. Now have to see if I kept my paperback copy - may well have - and reread it. ... I wonder if bell-bottom jeans will ever come back in style? They were starting to pop up in SoCal here and there before we left....