Haven’t we been using banal reasons to justify space exploration (and by extension satellites) like non-stick frying pans?” “Yes. Our nation has never had a philosophy of space exploration.”
This conversation seems topical, doesn’t it? But it took place 34 years ago on American national television shortly after the Challenger space shuttle broke apart before our eyes. In those :73 seconds of shock, we entered into a pristinely misinformed debate which again has flared up. It sounds like an echo from the past, “Why go into space when right down here on Earth we have pandemics, poverty and problems that are chronic and debilitating?”
Among those listening to that broadcast in 1986 was Frank White. The author and social scientist listened to the exchange above, which took place between political commentator George F. Will and the author of “The Right Stuff,” Tom Wolfe. As White listened he allowed his intuition to guide him. He thought, “Well, if we have never had a philosophy of space, then I am going to tackle it and become a space philosopher.”
He has successfully done that. Having written three grand books, including the best-selling “The Overview Effect” and recently “The Cosma Hypothesis,” he is considered our industry’s first and best philosopher. Our Socrates. His method in “The Overview Effect” was not Socratic so much as it was evocative. He interviewed and questioned those who had left the surly bonds of Earth and returned to learn if seeing it from another view had changed them in any way. Their replies were transformative. It is a new age cliché, or the tag line of a Pepsi commercial, to say that we are all “connected” to the Universe. But having had people in our profession, many of them clinical, bullet-head, no-nonsense engineers present near-divine evidence that we really are connected lifts our mission to another level.
It also demands of us a deeper responsibility. That means to keep the industry going and growing. Second, it means continuously supporting those who tell our story and share the evidence that we really are a transformative industry.
Having a guiding philosophy for going to space and ensuring that satellites do more than enable the invention of “non-stick frying pans” is what Frank White inspired. His approach today could not have come at a better time. White’s practical definition of space philosophy is exacting and lays out clearly the relevance. He reinforces it in his books and in a recent podcast:
He totally reinforces the “Better Satellite World” concept. In a time of a brutal global health crisis the notion of connectedness and the vital role of satellites has emerged. In a new issue of The Orbiter, Maxar’s Walter Scott writes about the role of geospatial data, citing the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s struggle with Ebola as an example of the type of impact the industry is having on global health policy – or rather in lieu of a truly global policy.
While we do not have a satellite that can produce a vaccine or lift a shattered social index for those who thrive on personal relationships and physical proximity, the industry is playing a major role in keeping civil society and swaths of the economy intact. As satellites were instrumental in helping to eradicate Polio in India – as Bill Gates readily admits - they are now enabling telemedicine services to help the world stay well and literally “see” their doctors. Nearly 80% of those in rural settings seeing doctors now are seeing them online.
If our industry was indispensable before COVID-19 its ability to provide robust access to communications and information revealed it to be fundamental to the “new abnormal” ahead. If we are digitizing the economy more rapidly as a result of the this virus, then satellites will become even more indispensable. And not just for mapping COVID breakout locations.
As Planet’s Director of Mission Systems, Isil Demir, wrote in The Orbiter, “There are aspects to this pandemic that may prove to be uniquely insightful for the biggest challenge of our lifetime: climate change. With most countries employing some level of lockdown measures, the breakneck speed of human activity on the face of the Earth dramatically slowed down. This small respite in human activity, and the subsequent fall in carbon dioxide emissions could prove to be a unique window into industrial history, providing scientists a rare glimpse of what Earth may look like when certain pollution factors are absent. This could aid scientists in creating better climate recovery models and help governments and organizations meet their sustainable development goals.”
From her mouth to God’s ears.
The notion that going out “there” is a frivolous endeavor or must give us a better experience when we fry eggs has probably seen its day pass. Having a philosopher with the data indicating that humanity’s emotional and spiritual lives are expanded as result of leaving Earth gives us confidence that while we are being profoundly transformed and socially wobbly for a while there is, as there always has been, hope from above.
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Join SSPI on July 14, 2020 at 10:30 am US EDT for a Webinar: Satellites and Public Health
In the time of COVID19, the world is seeking answers to the most severe public health crisis in living memory. Changes to how we live and work are part of the answer. Healthcare and the search for therapies and vaccines are another.
The space and satellite business can justly claim to be yet one more. Satellites have been contributing solutions for public health for decades, from communication and telemedicine to imaging and location services. The laws of physics and capabilities of technology dictate that our services reach across vast distances, reveal hidden truths and bring capabilities where they are most needed. Join SSPI for a webinar with members of the Space & Satellite Hall of Fame and SSPI’s 20 Under 35 cohorts, who share their insiders’ perspective on the difference this industry makes at times like today, when human lives are in peril and good answers are in high demand.
Speakers include: Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, Dr. Walter Scott, EVP & CTO at Maxar, Valvanera Moreno, Senior Manager and Program Integration Lead at SES and Robbie Shingler, Co-Founder and CSO at Planet. Learn more and register.
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Lou Zacharilla is the Director of Innovation and Development of the Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI). He can be reached at: LZacharilla@sspi.org
