Rusty: Who are you? And for that matter, where am I?
Astro: I'm Astro Dalek, and I live in your dreams.
Rusty: I was dreaming of the Space Shuttle.
Astro: Yes, and you're disappointed that you'll never get to fly in one.
Rusty: It's not just that. America designed and tested so many different types of space planes. Then we failed to build on the shuttle program's strengths and go on to build more capable models. We'll never know what NASA could have achieved with space planes, had the United States continued to fund that area of research and development.
Astro: Perhaps, but there's still the International Space Station. If you study the right subjects, and get the right training, you might qualify as an astronaut. Then someday you could visit it in an Orion capsule.
Rusty: That would be cool, assuming Orion doesn't get cancelled like the Constellation program did.
Astro: If it does, there's always Russia's Soyuz capsules. Or maybe by that time, the American company SpaceX will have developed their Dragon capsule for Dalek use.
Rusty: I suppose it would be cool to travel into space in a spaceship named after Master's favorite mythological creature.
Astro: See, there's so many reasons to be optimistic. A great future of living and working in space awaits us, if we will all work hard to realize it. And who knows? The space shuttle serviced America's needs for more years than anyone would have anticipated. It proved the validity of the space plane concept. In fact, the Sierra Nevada Corporation is currently developing a space plane called the Dream Chaser.
Rusty: An appropriate name, given the realm in which we're having our conversation.
Astro: Indeed. And what better topic to discuss with another person, than that of our fondest dreams?
Rusty: I guess you're right. We may yet see another space plane era, perhaps even one that eclipses the greatest achievements of the shuttle era. Thanks for talking me around, if only in my dreams.
Astro: I'll be with you always, and with every Dalek who aspires to pursue our great destiny in space.
Rusty & Astro Daleks
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