Architecture Note #18
The OUTREACH Program --More than a helping hand
by Michael A. Fitzgerald
Personal Prolog
This is an Architecture Note. It is the opinion of ISEC’s Chief
Architect. It represents an effort to
document ISEC’s ongoing science and engineering discussions, and is one of many
to be published over time. Most
importantly, it is a sincere effort to be the diary, or the chronicle, of the
multitude of our technical considerations as we progress; along the pathway
developing the Space Elevator.
ISEC must begin broad OUTREACH programs … but first we
need to do some homework
Introduction
It was probably Dad’s fault … but I remember all of us
piling into the car and heading out to the movies a few miles away … and the expected show wasn’t playing
anymore. My Dad accepted the guilt and
paid off with banana splits at our favorite ice cream parlor. It was probably more fun; the seven of us
being quiet in the movie was not really the ways things would have worked
out. Dad always turned those incidents
into teaching moments. “It didn’t turn
out so bad…but I should have
checked the schedule before leaving the house “.
ISEC had also better check. There are any number issues that could affect
us at the destination our progress, and banana splits are not the fix. We need to “check the schedule” and see how
a Space Elevator fits into the future. That is, the future as seen by others.
We need to reach out to a variety of legal, diplomatic, technological, and
jurisdictional authorities and see how they see the Space Elevator fitting
into their future. If need be, ISEC
should offer an enlightened view … so they see things our way. It is our teaching moments and we need to
make some plans. We need to form our
stories and stick to them.
There are several Transportation “Outreach topics”; maybe
more.
Transportation System Outreach:
1. Strategic Technology -
protection and sharing
2. Space Traffic Management – collision management is a
two-way street and we have right of way.
3. International Jurisdictions
4. Legal Structures
5. Interplanetary Space Operations – they need the Space
Elevator.
6. Space Elevator’s role in Long Term; supporting farms and
factories.
7. Technology and engineering development is needed for on
orbit servicing.
There are several Enterprise “Outreach topics”:
Technology readiness for technologies and engineering
activities with our Enterprise partners and clients. Some ideas:
1. Foster innovative business activities that are GEO
Centric; and Apex Centric.
2. Identify on orbit resources and tools
-
Solar Power
-
Fuels
-
Additive Printing
3. Join activities like the Washington Business Roundtable
4. Define broader business models for research and
exploration
5. Encourage industry players to send their proprietary
Requests for Information to ISEC.
In closing
We need them to see us there!
More to come
Fitzer
“ . . . a finely tuned tale of cosmic consequence that
will keep you turning pages far into the night . . .”
Publishers
Daily Review
“ . . . proof that a good old-fashioned space yarn in the
style of Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke can still be found . . . ”
Brilliant
Book Trailers
The Earth has just peeked above the lunar horizon and a
terrorist roams the corridors of the Lunar Station, dealing out death and
havoc. The timing could not be worse.
It is the eve of Man’s greatest engineering triumph —
construction of a space elevator that will reach skyward from the surface of
the Moon. But not everyone in the
habitat is ready to celebrate that milestone.
For one person, revenge is a bigger priority than a revolutionary
achievement.
It’s a tangled web indeed for Chief Engineer Clay Flynn
and his right-hand man Lou Santini to unravel as they wisecrack their way
through peril and pain in search of the person responsible for the bombings
that threaten the very existence of the lunar habitat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWTv1J9jrBg
Jacob Shellenberger’s contribution to the Intern Program
Jacob Shellenberger, a senior at Arizona State
University, successfully completed his Spring 2018 Academic Internship with the
International Space Elevator Consortium.
On 21 April 2018, Mr. Shellenberger presented his semester long analyses
of Business Models for the Galactic Harbour.
His tasking was as following:
Description: The
concept of a Galactic Harbour is the newest transition from old concepts of
space elevators to a vision that combines a tremendous space transportation
system [space elevators] with the space elevator Enterprise System as given
in “Transition focus to Galactic
Harbour.” This unifying vision of low cost access to space with potential
business opportunities enables the community to move towards a more robust
understanding of the remarkable future for daily, inexpensive, routine and
massive movement to space. The specific
case study that ISEC would like to have developed, at a top level, would be the
development of an Earth Port region with respect to both the initial space
elevator and all the supporting business functions necessary to have a
successful transportation system.
His work will establish a “starting point” for academic
analysis of business models for space elevators. The picture was taken after his defense of
his analyses next to the Mars rover.
Peter Swan, Ph.D. ISEC President
Excitement in Los Angeles - 26 May 2018
International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC) Presents a Space Elevator Track at the
National Space Society's (NSS) International Space Development Conference (ISDC)
ISEC has organized and will conduct a space elevator
track. The fun and excitement at this
conference reaches far beyond space elevators with its coverage of most
activities focused upon movement of humanity off-planet. www.nss.org The four days cover most every
topic of interest to include: asteroids, lunar settlements, low cost access to
space, next generation space enthusiasts, many roads to space, space
settlements, space solar power, Mars exploration and settlement, space law and
space medicine. The Space Elevator track
will be on Saturday as follows:
2:00p Space
Elevator 101, Status & Architectures. Peter Swan (ISEC)
2:25p Lunar
Space Elevators. Michael Laine (LiftPort)
3:00p Space
Elevator Earth Port. Vern Hall (ISEC)
3:20p Space
Elevator Research and Studies. Dennis Wright (ISEC)
3:35p ISEC
History Committee Activities. Matthew Farrell (ISEC)
4:00p NSS/NASA
Ames Student Space Settlement Contest Presentation
4:10p Galactic
Harbour, A Strategic Vision Emerges. Michael Fitzgerald (ISEC)
4:35p Questions
and Answers – Fitzgerald & Swan (ISEC)
There will be a booth in the exhibit hall and
much activity all weekend. Please come
and visit the NSS conference and join in the space elevator activities.
Intern Program Reminder
Deadline-15 May 2018
ISEC will have an internship program this summer to
stimulate research inside the space community with the purpose of improving the
Body of Knowledge on space elevators. The expectation is that the intern would
work from home, putting in approximately 10 hours a week researching various
components of the space elevator while working with an ISEC mentor. The
selection will be competitive with the top four gaining internships. The
details are as follows:
• Process: Apply,
be connected with the appropriate ISEC mentor, select topic of interest,
conduct individual research, confer with mentor every two weeks, summarize
research, present to mentor/and-or at the ISEC Conference.
• Who: This
program is open to all undergraduate students. The program is best suited to
Freshman and Sophomores working in a scientific or engineering field, however
students from all areas of study are encouraged to apply as ISEC works on all
aspects of the Space Elevator challenge from technical engineering problems to
questions of Space law and economics. We will be accepting up to 4 interns for
Summer 2018.
• Where: the
intern will conduct Research remotely with meetings by Skype or equivalent. The
intern’s final meeting will either be over Skype or at the ISEC Conference.
• What: Interns
will be researching or assisting with ongoing research of one area of Space
Elevator development. Areas of research include Space Elevator History,
Materials Applications for Space Elevator tethers, Earth Port infrastructure,
and more. Interns will report progress regularly to their mentor and produce a
summary of their research, as per agreement between intern and mentor. They
will present this research in person or through a video.
• Benefit: In
addition to the unique opportunity to work with leading Space Elevator
researchers each intern will be awarded a $500 grant, an ISEC certificate of
completion, and a letter of recommendation.
• Key Dates:
◦ Application due:
May 15th.
◦ Internship period:
June 15th-August 15th.
◦ ISEC Conference:
August 25th.
To Apply:
Please submit your application and any questions to
inbox@isec.org by May 15, 2018.
Your application should include your name, school, year,
major [and interests], and a short summary of your interest in ISEC and why you
would like to have a career in the space arena (no more than 200 words).
Pete
Fiction can serve up an imaginary feast of what the
future may hold; science fiction, in particular, is a great restaurant for
conjuring up these futuristic feasts. When the chief ingredient is the Space
Elevator, and the chefs are some of the best writers in the business, the
results are especially tasty.
Towering Yarns Vol. 1, published in December 2017 to mark
the 100th Anniversary of Arthur C. Clarke's birthday, is a delectable
smorgasbord of Space Elevator delights. Contributors to the anthology include
(amongst others) David Brin, Mike Resnick and Paul Crilley, William H. Keith,
Teresa Patterson and Jody Lynn Nye – all huge names within the Science Fiction
community and winners of more awards than a 3-star Michelin restaurant.
The entrée is "Victor", a novella about a
genius discovered in a most unlikely place who creates the strongest substance
known to man for use as the Elevator tether; "To Touch the Face of
God" is a rescue ten-thousand miles high. The menu also contains "The
Hermit of the Skies" where one man just wants to be left alone, in his
less-than-average home and continues with a Native American guiding the tether
from "High Space" to Earth. Desert follows in the form of "The
Rings of Earth" where a religious order holds access to the Elevator on a
leash tighter than the tether is stretched and the marvellous "Sinews of
Trantor" concerning the continuation of humanity in the face of
unavoidable catastrophe segues well into the post-prandial "Into The
Black" - telling the tale of an
extreme sport gone wrong.
Weaving through the book is a splash of Arthur C. Clarke
himself and a dash of Charles Sheffield; extraordinarily, these two premiere
writers released fiction works on the Space Elevator just months apart when
nothing had been written for decades beforehand.
For connoisseurs of science fiction and for
those who believe the Elevator WILL be built, and IN OUR LIFETIME, this is a
book not to be missed.
Please note: for a short period of time this book will be
released in limited edition form with a foreword by ISEC's very own Peter Swan
and a modified cover! (See photo above.)
President’s Corner
Membership Needs
ISEC is in a transition phase from a more academic
institution towards that of a developer of space elevators. We have succeeded in many areas such as study
reports [we now have seven – check for free pdfs on website], support at
conferences [our own each year in Seattle, the IAC’s continuously from 2004,
and the ISDC of the National Space Society for two years now, the British
Interplanetary Society (Dec 7th one day event in London), and other single
event activities], and a realization that the material development is in the
middle of a major breakthrough [continuous growth graphene]. As such, we need more support for ISEC and we
need to spread the word. This leads to
the membership question – we need more members.
Dennis Wright, our Director of Studies on the ISEC Board of Directors,
has taken on this challenge for membership and we will support his efforts in
the near future. We have a new software
package to assist in this endeavor. But
we also have concerns. My biggest one is
the maintenance of our current members.
We appreciate your persistence and support over the last ten years. Recently I reviewed a process given in
another membership organization entitled “7 steps to retaining members. ” These are:
1. Track like a bloodhound [we need to keep up with them]
2. Who is in charge? [we now have BoD member in charge]
3. Think like a larger organization [we are modeling on
others’ successes]
4. Offer value [we have recently reevaluated our membership
value]
5. Hello [we MUST keep communicating more than a monthly
newsletter]
6. Reach Out [yes, yes, we need to figure out how to do this
more effectively]
7. Don’t take attendance [even one event supported each year
is critical]
Please recognize that ISEC is trying to “touch” our
members, make your experiences more rewarding and ensure that you know you are
contributing to the mission:
“A world with inexpensive, safe, routine, and efficient access to space for the benefit of all mankind.”
Keep
Climbing my Friends
Pete Swan
