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The Space Movement

9 Comments

Is it moribund, and losing ground?

I’m not sure it matters, except to the degree that it influences government policy. Ultimately, it’s going to happen privately, if the government doesn’t prevent it. The flaw of past thinking of the movement was the notion that NASA was going to lead the way, and that it would need more money to do so. It’s pretty clear that that was never a realistic possibility.

9 thoughts on “The Space Movement”

  1. No voices for space settlement? What does the author think of Star Wars, Star Trek and Dr. Who, etc., etc., etc? This article is practically self refuting.

    Yours,
    Tom

  2. I think the best alternative ending for Gravity, the one which first came to my mind, and to the mind of almost everyone I knew who saw it, was: Sandra Bullock makes it to the surface of the water, and there is a brief moment of nothing but natural noise. Then the bass fiddle plays the first two notes of the Jaws theme, and 5 seconds later, a huge shark fin appears 50 feet behind her, headed her way…

    1. And by the way, I believe that we haven’t been visited by ETs and never will be not because there aren’t any, but because interstellar travel just isn’t possible.

  3. The current condition of space advocacy reminds me a bit of the current condition of Africa – a poverty-stricken backwater beset by ceaseless tribal and sectarian warfare. Other than that, things are fine.

  4. I blame Tito.

    Everything changes when someone does something significant (without NASA.) There is more than enough support for anyone with the money to actually do something.

    That logjam is about to burst.

  5. As an NSS Director and Chair of the just completed and exceedingly successful ISDC 2014, I humbly beg to differ. The focus has changed a great deal over the years as we are no longer just selling an idea. Commercial space is happening and many of the folks in it were L5/NSS members and started off attending ISDC’s. Many still do. Our many thrusts these days are in the policy frontier. Do you discount the change wrought in NASA by our former Executive Director turned (now retired) Assistant Administrator? We are doing quite well thank you. The presences of perhaps 300 kids from all over the world at our event speaks for itself. These kids are designing the future and we are empowering them. So just because we are no longer doing what we did in 1984 means absolutely squat.

  6. Hmm. No edit button. Just to correct any misconceptions, I was not chair of ISDC2014; I am chair of the committee that oversees all ISDC’s.

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