The optimism of space exploration

VERO BEACH, Fla. – I saw it lift into the dusky heavens, reaching upward in a stunning ballet of determination and grace, creeping across the sky in an orange streak, stretching toward Earth’s orbit. And somehow, the rise of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket defied the notion that there is no revelation in repetition.

Americans have been launching rockets from Florida for 73 years; the first one was o…