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space future

SpaceSocieties.com
aka SpaceSoc.com

The politics
IN space

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As a political consultant with an interest in space (http://www.SpaceSoc.com), two kudos:

1. Congrats to John Schwartz and the NY Times for putting space on the front page of the news where a space game plan should be discussed.

2. Congrats to the President-elect’s transition team for, as its spokesperson says, "preparing the full range of options for consideration by the incoming appointees."

I don’t think good "old" ideas (including what is now being done) are going to be thrown out the window but I welcome a fresh look. New blood is necessary for several reasons:

The dismal thinking of the Bush Administration in many areas impacted scientific programs in particular with an anti-intellectual warp. When this warp begins to be undone on Jan 20, we’ll see a refreshing release of ideas occur within the space programs.

Many first teamers of our space program have gotten older. As I’ve written, "The US space program is stuck in its decades old achievements. Been there, done that." It’s time for not just one new generation but for two new ones as space program leaders. The 40-50 yo’s will release new ideas they couldn’t before; the 20-30 yo’s will bring ideas and a new mindset.

Finally, space is no longer the domain principally of scientists and engineers – and some of them don’t get this. With its large budgets competing against other budgets, with private capital now in the mix, with many countries now entering space in individual and joint efforts, politics is unavoidably in play. This isn’t necessarily bad.J Indeed, with his ability to comprehend tough problems, carry out a complex plan, and bring a new mindset to the challenges of the future, President-elect Obama can be a huge boost to the space program. Give him time – space isn’t all he and we have on our plates.

Jan 23 2008 post to (London) Evening Standard

A significant aspect to this (Virgin Atlantic flights into space) is that these flights and ones that go higher and farther than these will become "every day enough" to not always be newsworthy. Just part of the everyday fabric of life like the GPS, the computer, etc.

Once space ventures achieve this phase, the public will be ready to take in stride space-based solar power and the use of raw materials from asteroids and the moon.

Then the public will be more ready to comprehend as real, rather than as science fiction, that our grandchildren or their grandchildren could spend some of their lives living in space communities.

Then space will really take off!

 - Tom Diffenbach
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This site is always under construction.:)

   YESS A Team Wins - Oluwabukola Akinremi and Oluwakemisola Agoyi from Ota, Nigeria answer a question in a recent SpaceSoc.com competition.
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    Getting with the realities
                   by Tom Diffenbach

   Decades ago I, a political consultant, met for 15-30 minutes with space settlement pioneering thinker Gerard O’Neill. In those minutes we connected solidly in a couple of ways: he had political smarts and openness to ideas beyond his own. If those of you who knew him better agree with my two impressions, please read on.

   I think that for scientific and political reasons, Gerard O’Neill would have moved beyond his "High Frontier" thinking a long time ago. I think, if he were here today, he’d be incorporating new political realities and thinking about space, including, for examples, nanotechnology, cyborgs, and various singularities, into his work.

   Do you wonder if he would be saying something like, "humans in space won’t happen simply with my 1970’s thinking so everyone should get with the realities."

   A successful space future should be tied to going thru our twentieth century space thinking and bringing it up-to-date – getting with the realities. That’s part of the 2010 work at SpaceSoc.com.

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Get real!
Leave a legacy to the future of society in space right now.

It takes just 45 minutes discussing space society questions in an online chat to start your legacy
to the future of society in space.

You don't need to be a space expert. In fact, you don't have to know anything about space at all. What you have to be, whatever your space interest level, is real.

What we'll accomplish at SpaceSoc - and what we'll be known for hundreds and thousands of years from now - are the ideas, plans, and groundwork on which actual societies in space will be built.

We'll be founders, philosophers, leaders.

That's worth 45 minutes now, don't you think?

contact Tom Diffenbach at
diffenbach@comcast.net 

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 SpaceSoc Lab Exercises Lay Foundation
     So, what will space really be like? Well, even with all the space organizations, projects, and contests, we can't say.
     For our work here, tho, which will be preserved and updated for the future, we can say that what you do here can be part of the far-off future in space communities.
     We're laying a foundation in which you can make a difference, without a billion dollar budget and a cadre of space scientists.
     Take a look at how simple it is to work with SpaceSoc Exercises.  A brief piece about Exercise #1 is below and there are two others at SpaceSocLabExercises.
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    SpaceSoc Lab Exercise #1
   Game Plan for a space community
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   Lab Exercise SpaceSoc-1 is to brainstorm a "game plan" for setting up a space community of at least 1,000 persons. 
   You don't need to deal with the engineering know-how that built the community for you. You need social and political know-how to get the community going and then to keep it going.
   For this exercise, we want you to be the CEO of a space corporation. Imagine you have only 30 minutes to brainstorm two versions of your game plan - one to present to your board of directors and one to present to the 1,000 persons your company would be recruiting to live there.
    SpaceSoc-1 calls for a game plan with keys to the game and with play-by-play dynamics. We're not looking for a civics essay, a political speech, a technical report, references to science fiction, or a full business plan.
    Email 5-10 bulleted steps using a max of 150 words for each version. We'll reply to each entry and generally analyze the entries in an online discussion.
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        SpaceSoc preps space societies       
    SpaceSocieties.com  often shortened to SpaceSoc - deals right now with political and societal issues of future space communities.
   Space Soc is "skippered" - led - by non-partisan political consultant Tom Diffenbach, who invites participation and ideas from any country, from any age, from amateur or professional. SpaceSoc values ideas for merit, not their authorship.
     Some SpaceSoc work is public. The work on this site is a contribution to the public domain altho we'd like to get
proper credit for our work.
   We are a bridge connecting the present and the future.
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Al Globus
 "Paths to Space Settlement"

   Al Globus, who chairs the space settlement committee of the National Space Society, has posted on his website his ideas about "Paths to Space Settlement".

Here's the abstract:

   "A number of firms are developing commercial sub-orbital launch 
vehicles to carry tourists into space. Let’s assume they attract many customers and become profitable. The next, much more difficult, step is to develop orbital tourist vehicles and space hotels to go with them.  These hotels will require maids, cooks, waiters, concierges and so forth, some of which may decide to stay, becoming the first permanent residents.in space. At some point a bright entrepreneur may notice the large numbers of wealthy elderly people in
wheel chairs willing to pay well to get out of them. Add good medical facilities to an orbital hotel and those people could be living in the first zero-g retirement home.

   "In the meantime, we could choose to solve, once and for all, our 
energy and global warming problems by developing space solar power, i.e., putting up enormous satellites to gather energy in space and beam it to Earth with no atmospheric emissions at all. To supply a substantial  fraction of civilization’s 15 twa energy habit would require huge numbers of launches, not to mention developing the ability to build extremely large structures in orbit, and eventually tapping the moon and asteroids for materials to avoid the environmental cost of mining, manufacturing, and launch from Earth.

   "The best asteroids to mine would be known if Earth’s people realize we are in a cosmic shooting gallery and build telescopes to find the thousands of deadly asteroids crossing Earth’s orbit. Most of these won’t hit us for millions of years, but there could be one heading our way at any time. Exploiting these Near Earth
Objects (NEOs) could be made even easier if we take the eminently sensible step of changing the path of a few completely non-dangerous NEOs, just for practice in case one is 
found to be heading our way without much time to develop deflection techniques.
  
   "If we do all this, each step of which is justified in it’s own 
right, we’ll have excellent launch, small orbital living facilities, the ability to build large objects in orbit, and access to extra-terrestrial materials – most of what we need to realize Gerard O’Neill’s space settlement vision.(1, 2 ) At that point, expect some extremely
wealthy religious fanatics to build themselves a small orbital habitat 
so they don’t have to live with any’unbelievers.’ Since the first space settlement is by far the hardest to build, from there on it’s just a matter of time until we have an orbital civilization with trillions of 
inhabitants.

   "These are paths to space settlement."

    Read the entire article here: http://alglobus.net/NASAwork/papers/PathsToSpaceSettlement2009.pdf

    If you have views on the path to space settlement that are presented in the crisp way Al does his, send them along. Thanks.
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   Spread the word. Give/get a new book about space now.
For hundreds of books about the topics below, click on the links.  Buy $25 worth at low Amazon prices and get fast free shipping.
                  Space Exploration   Astronomy

"How will space research change when there is a Kurzweilian Singularity or similar game-changer?"

   That question and others were answered by four high school students from the YESS group in Nigeria who recently joined in space research competition about social and political issues to be resolved in future space communities.
  YESS, for Young EarthSpace Scientists, is a project headed by Ayodele Faiyetole, an International Space University alumnus who recently won the school’s prestigious Todd B. Hawley award to an alumnus who combines public service and space research.
   The four students, from Ota, Nigeria included two young men, Dara Folayan and Olusegun "Segun" Akintomiwa, who competed against two young women, Oluwabukola "Bukola" Akinremi and Oluwakemisola "Kemi" Agoyi.
   Each team received a rating of excellent. The women’s team was judged the winner in the evenly-matched contest.
   The four and others from Nigeria will be forming teams to participate in upcoming international competition sponsored by SpaceSoc.com, a space project headed by a non-partisan political consultant, Tom Diffenbach, from the USA.
    SpaceSoc.com and YESS both recognize that science and engineering are important to space and so are the social and political issues that will exist in communities in outer space.
   When YESS isn’t active in space studies, its members might be applying space research to their communities.
   In their contest, the students answered sixteen questions in live competition, including:
   What traits are you looking for in space settlers? What happens when cultural values of a space community change over generations? How will humankind make living in space succeed – or mess it up?
   Diffenbach noted that these are students who figure out their math and physics but know that to be a leader in space or on Earth, they need to figure out humans, too.
   Faiyetole said, "I see the Young EarthSpace Scientists blazing the trail in their chosen fields in the future."
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Are your "space realities" real?

   If you wonder why there isn't more support for space activities - especially yours - read on. (more)   
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Ack! Do we need politics in space?  

     Should space venturists  think NOW about politics inside space communities?  Yes, now. Here's why! (more)
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Ideas for communities
"Raft Ups" help to address personal belief systems
   SpaceSoc communities can be as different as their founders. Within communities, individual crewmates differ, too, in many ways, including their beliefs.
   SpaceSoc communities might want to deal with belief systems issues thru Raft-Ups, newly in use on Earth.
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A note to teachers
   SpaceSoc can arrange for classrooms a choice of web chat, web video, or email to suit needs of classes.
     We will interact personally with each class. Thus we will limit the number of classes in our student program.
     Students of all ages and interests in space can benefit from this mature approach. SpaceCom wants to motivate students to be learners as well as to teach them about space. Just think of us as meat and potatoes space rather than as fast food space with toys.:)
     For a limited time, one free student class session per school district is available.    
     SpaceSoc can give your science students an outlook broader than science and engineering.  Civics students learn about civics on Earth and about the future in space.
     SpaceSoc will adapt its teaching to your computer capabilities: simple email, live video, or using this site. We won't let your students down.
     To apply for a free class session, email your needs and contact info to diffenbach@comcast.net.
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Signs-ups for student, amateur, and pro contests   
     Want to compete with student, adult amateur, and even pro space teams in leagues and tournaments about space communities?
     All you need is a crew of one to six persons, each ready to spend an hour or two at a computer bi-weekly.
    If you're a space "newbie", you can participate, working with other newbies or being assigned to an established crew to give you experience.
    It's part of SpaceSoc's cutting-edge research into social and political issues in future space communities.
-------------------------------If your company or organization wants to retain SpaceSoc for space society ideas, or space-related political consulting, email
Tom Diffenbach at diffenbach@comcast.net.
 
  

Make 2010 your SpaceSoc.com year!

Next
SpaceSoc
online discussion
Mon, 11 Jan 2010
10 PM EDT (USA)

We video conference
and chat with
 SightSpeed, ooVoo or Skype
--------------------
see NYTImes.com article below
 for discussion purposes

Staying Put on Earth,
 Taking a Step to Mars
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            Welcome aboard!    
    Political consultant Tom Diffenbach, SpaceSoc "skipper", also skippers his sloop Enterprise
In friendly sailboat races.
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For books on space and more,
click on links:
.
Space Exploration
.Astronomy
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    In a SpaceSoc focus group, we asked what might not be anticipated by space community developers.
     What do you think might not be anticipated?  (Email your answer to be included in a follow-up to this column.)
     One participant, Kathleen Kennedy, said one thing that won't be anticipated is that people change their minds.
     This is about more than that politicians change their minds or that public mood changes. It's more than that technology changes. 
    In part it's about, e.g., a 35 yo single space settler who'll in ten years in space become 45 yo.  By then, s/he might have married, had kids, and be concerned about personal matters more than work.
     The now-45-yo space settler might seem obsolete to a just-arriving 25 yo settler with up-to-date know-how and the time and energy to work 80 hours a week.
     This example shows a problem I have with much space settlement talk.  This talk is of a "snapshot" in time rather than a "video" that accounts for change.
     I think it was Bill Gates' house that was wired for the electronic future - but not for then-not-available wireless.
    At SpaceSoc, account for change, including, as the wise Kathleen Kennedy said, that people change their minds.
          -Tom Diffenbach

Focus On is SpaceCom's regular column about our focus groups. More Focus On columns.

What will it be like for a family living their lives in outer space?

Question for the sociologists:
Will some answers come first?
  What will it be like living in space for a lifetime?      
   Astrosociologists, who study human behaviors in life in space, are only beginning their field.
     Unlike sociologists studying societies on Earth, astrosociologists don't have a society in space to examine. The procedural rhetoric in computer games and even advanced modeling can limit  the realism of their studies.
    The political dynamics of any step of space society development can be a focus of custom SpaceSoc study .

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SpaceSoc blog & discussions

   SpaceSoc has a blog but we use it only for purposes related to special topic discussion, not for regular postings and exchanges.
   Use SpaceSoc Discussion to join in discussions. Email diffenbach@comcast.net to make necessary RSVPs.   
     Discussions will be one-topic, multi-topic or "open". Topic(s). Topical ones will stay on the topics. All will stay on point and be realistic.
------------------------------Non-partisan political consultant Tom Diffenbach’s interests include campaigns, political dynamics, individual performance (SailThruLife), OWN© (only what’s needed) communications, world affairs, and human society in space. (http://www.SpaceSoc.com).
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