SpaceVision2010

What's Next? National Space Society 2010

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The Perfect Storm Rages On

• The future we want to see is not a sure thing

• The folks in charge have more of a clue than you may realize, however they to can fall pray to failures of vision and failures of nerve

• Government space endeavors, commercial space endeavors, and other non-governmental space endeavors are all in play

• Your mission should you choose to accept it, it to find a way to make constructive trouble, to help make things happen, to be the disruptive wetware tech that makes a difference.

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 being enacted into law sets a new course for NASA

• This was a real win for the space advocacy community. There was no real alternative to a compromise.

• The follow-through on the appropriations bill will have to factor in the change in the control of the House of Representatives

NSS Space Ambassadors Program is live ...

• Space Ship Two drop test successful

• Runway at Space Port America dedicated

• http://www.spaceambassadors.com is almost there

• Cautionary tale ...

  • the best of intentions must be matched to the resources

  • NSS must make this right

  • there are no do overs

• ISDC 2011 will have the first round of best of presentations

  • selection of the first set of "professional space ambassadors" may occur subject to timing issues

ISDC 2011 is drawing near

• May 18-23, 2011 Von Braun Convention Center Huntsville, AL

Kalam-NSS Energy Initiative

• The press conference on the NSS-Kalam Energy Initiative can be seen at the following URL:

  • http://www.visualwebcaster.com/KalamNSS

  • Press Kit is available at http://nssdocs.xisp.net/nsswiki1/KalamNSS

Making Constructive Trouble

• Find out what the connection is between your University and the Space Business?

  • Find out who is publishing and/or bringing in research money related to space

    • Make sure they know you

  • No funding currently?

    • Start your own research project

    • Team with your department to apply for grants

    • Universities understand money and people that get things done, take advantage of this fact

• You want to learn how to make things happen. If you do it right you can mentor others along the way, get credit for what you do, and eventually get paid for the skills you develop.

• Start looking for scholarship and Intern opportunities now!

  • Write an Internship proposal to NSS Headquarters

  • Set a goal of having a funded graduate program before you start graduate school

• Sign up for the applicable professional Society AIAA, IEEE, ASME, etc. and let them know what the future you are interested in is and that you want to work to make it happen.

• Go to the National Space Society (NSS) Website, there are opportunities to learn about space advocacy, space technology, space policy, and for getting involved at a national level.

  • Come to the NSS International Space Development Conference a key networking opportunity for the space community in Huntsville 2011, Washington DC 2012, ??? 2013

  • Come to New Space 2011 at Ames Research Center July 2011.

  • Participate in the Legislative Space Blitz with the NSS/Space Exploration Alliance this coming February in Washington D.C.

• Figure out the context of your research interest

  • What is the basis of policy?

  • Who are the actors?

  • What is the critical path of research?

• Graduating SEDS membership qualify for a complementary one year membership in NSS

• Learn that what really matters is what you actually build, not Power Point presentations.

• Control your own destiny - get your research work funded

10 Things you can do to make constructive trouble today

1. Make sure you are registered member of SEDS, your resume is in the database, and you get involved with you SEDS local/national/international

2. Find a way to come with a group to Washington D.C. for the Space Exploration Alliance legislative blitz February 2011

3. Sign up to help at the NSS International Space Development Conference in Huntsville, Alabama student's have a special rate and staff volunteers get other benefits http://isdc.nss.org/2011/

4. Want to fly in space for real? NSS & Virgin Galactic want you to sign up as a Space Ambassador http://www.spaceambassadors.com. As part of their duties, Space Ambassadors will communicate the value of space research and exploration to their local communities, and each year multiple space ammbassadors will be choosen to be program mentors and become eligible for various flight training/assignments. Opportunities will range from zero-g flights, high performance jet aircraft flights, avaiation/space simulator training, and flights on Virgin Galactic Space Ship Two.

5. Pick a thesis topic that is on the critical path of space development

6. Read the NSS Strategic Plan http://www.nss.org/docs/NSS_Strategic_Plan.pdf and the Implementation plan http://www.nss.org/docs/NSS_Implementation_Plan.pdf and tell us what is missing and what you are willing to work on.

7. Read the report from the Human Space Flight Commission http://www.nss.org/resources/library/spacepolicy/HSF_Cmte_FinalReport.pdf

8. Leverage your involvement in SEDS to make connections through out the greater space community

9. Join NSS and get involved in an NSS chapter and/or affliliate and be part of one of the new national & international level transformational projects, a http://www.nss.org

10. Negotiate an internship at NSS Headquarters. Write gary.barnhard@nss.org

Key Heuristics

• You need to come to understand what you know you know, and what you know you don't

• Question authority, but remember if you still have to be able to read the label on the bottle of bleach and figure out that drinking it would be a bad idea.

• In life people see things in different ways some see the metaphorical partially filled glass of water as half full, others see it as half empty, and still others that would question if we truly understand that what we perceive as the glass, the water, and for that matter the table there are artifical and profoundly limited constructs. You have to be able to deal with all of them.

• You must understand that it is a given that you can fail. What is extraordinarily interesting and special is the extent to which you actually succeed.

• You need to have no unnecessary sense of self limitation

• Success through cooperation grows the space movement

• Powerpoint slides are not an engineering deliverable!

Working Materials

• SedsNssCoop SEDS & NSS Cooperative Agreement