The serious business of leaving Earth orbit and going somewhere—the moon, Lagrange points, maybe Mars if we ever get our act together. Medium-range spaceflight requires weeks or months, real planning, and the willingness to be very far from help if something goes wrong. It's for people who are committed to space, not just sampling it, and who have accepted that they will miss several seasons of their favorite shows, possibly forever, depending on how the landing goes.
Example: "She trained for years for medium-range spaceflight—a six-month mission to a lunar station. She'd miss birthdays, holidays, and the entire run of whatever Netflix series dropped while she was gone. But she'd see Earth rise over the lunar horizon, which seemed like a fair trade, assuming the rocket didn't explode. Her mother was not convinced."
by Abzugal February 14, 2026
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