While romantic imagery, it's cynics who propose that we 'reach for the stars' because there's no future on Earth, due to population explosion or nuclear war or

While romantic imagery, it's cynics who propose that we 'reach for the stars' because there's no future on Earth, due to population explosion or nuclear war or environmental collapse or other doom. We've also built an awful lot of rockets for war, to bring the power of the stars down on our enemies as H-bombs. The Gemini series launched on top of a repurposed ICBM. I don't know if developing nuclear bomb delivery vehicles falls under cynicism, but it's not part of reaching for the stars.