...the Golden Age was 1945 - 1969, when people knew space travel was possible because the message of liquid fuelled rockets aka V2s sank in and nuclear weapons made Space the new High Ground. So the Solar System seemed to open up with possibility.

But by 1969 we knew there was nothing much on Mars or Venus. We knew that interplanetary space was full of particles from the Sun, all the intermediate Earth orbits were in the Van Allen Belts, that we didn't need men on space stations to change valves on the radio equipment and the first listening to the stars had come up empty of nearby beacons. We also had decent estimates of the cost of trips to the Moon and it was EXPENSIVE...

The Silver Age was 1969-1981... when BIG BIG BIG space-plans (O'Neill CylCities and SPS studies) were being proposed and wowing all the enthusiasts, but the reality of smaller space budgets hadn't sunk in. People could hope for cheaper space-fllight via the Shuttle...

The Bronze Age was the Shuttle Era... 1981-2010...

So will the next Age be Iron or a New Golden Age?