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SRI News

Oct

2017

Why get off this rock, an interview by Sarah Hoyt to Jeff Greason

In this excellent interview, Jeff Greason explains in plain and simple words why civilization needs to expand into the outer space, why the expansion shall be a manned one, and why we need it now, and not in a distant future. We copied here, adding some comments of ours, some of the most interesting points made by Jeff. But of course we invite everybody to read the whole interview.

About the basic socio-economic need for civilian space development, Jeff says: “There are many reasons which are true, but I find secondary, though others find them compelling. For example, the industrial and economic development of space is going to require both machines and people – just as has been the case in all past economic development efforts. And that economic development will drive some significant features of life on Earth. For example, raising the standard of living of everyone on the planet to “first world” levels is going to require something like 30% increase in the energy use of human civilization, and space is about the only place to get that (if you didn’t know, the solar system has about a billion Earth’s worth of energy available).”

And, on the philosophical topic: “There is the long run argument, that there are indeed risks to the survival of the human species; planetary disasters, both natural and man-made, are possible. A good argument can be made that all successful species spread to all available ecological niches, and human beings are unique in that we have used tools and technology to redefine what we can consider “habitable” – if you think things like clothing, agriculture, controlled fire, fishing and whaling boats, aren’t ‘technology’ then try living without them! And it is our increased use of energy, to drive high intensity agriculture, fertilizers, transportation of food and materials, heating and cooling, synthesis of metals and concrete, and most recently, global trade, that has allowed us to greatly expand the human population and decrease dramatically both the fraction of that population, and even the absolute number of people who live in serious poverty. If we want civilization to continue, we need to continue that expansion to new niches, and if we want to insulate ourselves against risks to the planet, we need that population to include as many planets – indeed, as many star systems – as possible.”

Hereafter, Jeff addresses an argument that is very relevant, for us at Space Renaissance, the argument of urgency, and how to communicate this urgency to the people at large. “I think that argument is true but it lacks urgency. It’s like defending against an asteroid strike – it’s easy to see it’s a good idea, and that it would be cheap insurance, but after all, it might not strike for a thousand years, so that doesn’t strike people as urgent. And the fact that it’s just as likely to happen next month as in a thousand years doesn’t move people, even though that’s quite true.”

Another argument dear to SRI is then developed: we are not simply interested to survive as a species, we want our civilization to survive, with our way of life, that means our culture, as it results from hundreds thousands years of history and our freedom. “What motivates me is not so much the threat to human civilization, but to the KIND of civilization I want to live in – one that values human beings and human freedom. It is common for people to treat those conditions as if that was the normal condition of humanity when very obviously, it is not now the norm everywhere on the planet, and as recently as a few centuries ago, was not the norm anywhere on the planet. Having a physical frontier – a place you can go, if you really, really want to, has been essential to the maintenance of that kind of civilization, for two reasons. First, is philosophical. Why should you value freedom? If someone else has something you want, why not go and take it? Yes, we all know that trade and civilization could not exist if there were no security of private property – but what’s that to you? You have to understand – to believe — that you have something to gain from civilization – that you have a stake in it. You have to understand that it is NOT a zero-sum game – that the pie can get bigger. A quick study of history shows that it has been getting bigger, very fast, but people don’t study history. They have to SEE it. Well, when you can see new lands next door, new farms, new fields, new forests, it’s hard to convince people that they can’t better themselves if they want to put in the work. Calls for socialism and collectivism find fewer ears.”

Of course, in a context of abundant resources and greater social development opportunities for everyone, there will be objectively less opportunities for coercive collectivist regimes, of any ideological imprinting, both socialist or fascist. And, we would like to add, also calls for wars and violent confrontations should find fewer ears. So there will be a chance for some ethical step forward.

Interview part one, including an essential Jeff’s bio.

Interview part two, the philosophical and socio-economic discussion.

Jun

2017

Seven million and a half kg of gold in orbit

Thanks to Stefano Antonetti, Bernard Farkin and Manuel Perez for commenting and editing this article.

As of 1957, it is estimated that on average 132 orbital launches have been made per year, leading to a total of about eight thousand. 4256 satellites were traced by UNOOSA in August 2016, of which only 1419 (33%) are operating. About 18,000 are orbital scrap large enough (more than 10 cm.) to be traced. About 64% of traceable objects are fragments resulting from destructive events such as explosions or collisions. A much larger population of debris can not be monitored operationally. In the space between low orbit (LEO, 300 km) and geostationary orbit(GEO, 36 thousand km) travel – at orbital velocity – an estimated number of 700,000 objects larger than 1 cm and 170 million objects of dimensions greater than 1 mm. Which means that the near Earth space region becomes more and more dangerous. But this is not the aspect I want to talk about today. Those who know me for my predominantly philosophical works may be surprised by this article, which includes a number of economic and social considerations. In fact, I want to demonstrate the convenience — today, and not in a distant future — of investing in orbital industrial activities conducted by human technicians, with respect to fully robotic operations. Moreover, without offending all those who continue to oppose and fear civilian expansion into outer space, it is enough to analyse the environment we are talking about, to understand that the most promising activities are simply unworkable without the presence of human operators. This is a presentist vision rather than a futurist one: Space Renaissance, the international association that i am honored to preside, promotes civil expansion in outer space, we aim to stimulate investments, revive the economy and develop millions of new jobs today, and not in the near future …

Space debris: do we need an orbital car crusher?

So let’s start from scrap, or space waste, or debris… I.e. objects that, according to a very common opinion, no longer have any useful purpose. But is it true? Let’s make some calculations.

The total weight of space scrap is about 7,500 tons, or 7.5 million kilograms. The cost of ground-to-orbit transport has remained steady over the last 50 years, around $ 20,000 per kilo, kept high by a cartel made up of large builders of expendable rockets, grouped in the North American ULA (United Launch Alliance). Recent history sees China and India positioning their payload price between $ 10 and $ 25,000 per kilo. But the monopoly of spendable rockets was broken only by the advent of Space X’s reusable launchers, which triggered a Renaissance process of which we have seen so far only the first steps. How much did it cost to send 7.5 Million Kilos of terrestrial artifacts? At $ 20,000 per kilo, about $ 300 billion. If we then add the costs of design, construction and management, it is not difficult to get a total cost of close to 1 $ trillion. Considering that the current price of gold is around $ 41,000 per kilo, it is like saying that we have a heritage comparable to 7.5 million pounds of gold orbiting over our heads, if we like to see it from an economic point of view. If, like me, you want to see it from the civilisation ethical and evolutionary point of view as well, it is aaas if we wanted to lock ourselves in a golden cage, but without taking care, so far, to develop systems capable of remedying this disaster.

We can even smile, although it’s a bitter smile. Do we bear in mind the case of big citiy waste? The situation is not different, indeed: waste constitutes an environmental tragedy only for those who have not yet decided to use it. For those who own good recycling facilities, waste is worth gold! In addition, for the plant owners, the profit is made twice, as it not only produces energy and materials of various use, but they are paid to receive the waste from those who are not equipped to use them as well! We can well imagine how those who have invested in the recycling industry have a cynical but understandable smile on their face, when considering the still large array of suckers who pay to dispose of their wealth!
Did you get the picture, looking down at the ground? Well, now look up. We immediately realize that, with regard to so-called space waste, the whole world is blind, and no companies have yet emerged capable of investing in the facilities needed for the collection, processing and reuse of this immense orbital wealth. By developing orbiting modular workshops – the experience with the International Space Station is fundamental – we can begin to capture scrap, separate metals from plastic, grind the various components and extract dust, the “raw” material for 3d printing. What are we waiting for?

New space industry is taking first steps on this roadmap. D-ORBIT, a small Italian company, develops a system for satellite decommissioning at the end of their life cycle. A first step, aimed at not producing new waste. But all travel begins with a first step. And the fact that there are those who reason and operate at this level is quite comforting, indeed.

Disposing of new satellites by means of special on board subsystems, causing them to burn up in the atmosphere, is a necessary precautionary measure, aimed at limiting the production of new waste. Capturing existing scrap, and throwing it in the same way into the “incinerator” of reentering the atmosphere, would solve the problem of orbital remediation. However, in the medium to long term, these are “losing” investments, since they are not aimed at using the wealth of space scrap, but rather adds costs to the terrestrial community. Economically speaking, the destruction of waste, both on the ground and in space, is equivalent in value to destroying a great value. Not to mention that, however, in order to capture orbital scrap, we will already need machines capable of interorbital maneuvers, piloted and operated by human beings. Therefore, it is worth dealing with a more ambitious program at the outset, and at the same time develop both collection and process-reuse facilities.

It is clear that, with such a wider range of views, we are including a much larger number of stakeholders: the security of orbital flights — any mission or freight or passengers transportation for anywhere in space must pass through Earth orbit–, whatever their motivation and destination, exploration or tourism, low orbit or Jupiter moons, industrial research or settlement, etc …; short / medium term investment return; global industrial and economic development; social benefits, employment, the development of new markets.

Workshops, service stations and orbital factories

And here we come to the second great and promising presentist challenge. Space scrap recovery and recycling connects fluidly, seamlessly with another major industrial activity. Our orbital workshops, already set up on site with the aim of collecting and processing space scrap, are enriched and differentiated by another feature: the in-orbit assembly of satellites. Supported by robotic mechanisms, our workshop starts to become an orbital satellite factory. Do you like using some retro terms, like “factory”? Although strongly projected onto Renaissance innovation, we are also extremely conscious of how much we owe to our parents and grandparents … who have given their sweat and often their lives, building industrial civilization 1.0. And we like to continue to use certain terms as a tribute to that civilization that they had built with hope in a better future… at the dawn of the Renaissance of Industrial Civilization 2.0, hoping and struggling so that this was the end of the pre-space-age recession.

So, for investors, assembling satellites in orbit by human technicians will lead to a substantial reduction in many sources of expenditure. Firstly, we should bear in mind that every ground-assembled satellite needs expensive automation for the deployment of photovoltaic panels and communication antennas. Such automated mechanisms are also very expensive, since they must be robust enough to withstand the great vibrations and huge accelerations of the launch. If the assembly of the satellite will be in orbit, we can get rid of such mechanisms. And the weight to be dispatched to orbit will be less. Secondly, consider that, with the exception of orbital telescopes, any satellite maintenance is very expensive in the present paradigm, and therefore unfeasible. The components are thus very costly, since they shall be resistant to cosmic hard radiation, and responsive to the most restrictive fault tolerance and fault avoidance requirements. Our orbital workshops could take care of the satellites’ location as well as of their periodic maintenance and repair, which would allow the use of commercial components at a much lower cost. Finally, orbital workshops could take care of the satellites de-commissioning at the end of their lifecycle, so they would also save automated decommissioning systems, at least for larger machines. The decommissioning subsystems of the smaller satellites could be programmed to return to the nearest collection station at the end of their life. It goes without saying that the periodic maintenance of the satellites would lengthen their life, resulting in a further reduction in overall costs and parallel increase in profitability.

Summarizing: any automation that we can avoid onboard the satellite reduces the cost of design, components, development, testing, integration and launch. But it’s not over here: we talked about recycling. And here we close a first circle: with the material output of the scrap processing plants we will feed the orbital factories, which can produce parts of satellites in orbit, by means of 3d printing, further reducing the development and launch costs! Here, the frontier begins to produce on its own, and then to start a real exo-economy, though still tied to Earth by a robust umbilical cord …

So far, we have only talked about two orbital industrial threads, space scrap recycling and in-orbit satellites assembly. But urgently need to start get the ball rolling! A myriad of jobs and trades will be born around and supporting civil industrial activities in space. Just think only of the vast constellation of jobs that were born following the development of the web and the development of renewable energy sources … scared about artificial intelligence? It does not make sense! The world is so varied, and the environment of outer space even more so, that we can not do without human intelligence, creativity and flexibility – provided that it was convenient to do without, and we saw that it is not. Above all, we can never ask for a machine, apart from seeing a danger for which it was not programmed, to have insight into the potentials that become evident in the most inscrutable ways to human mind, often re-emerging after a day of depression and pessimism … or in front of a spectacular rise of blue Earth from the lunar horizon …
So let’s list here in bulk, but we’ll come back soon with more details, a series of industrial activities that can all be done on a 20-year horizon, thanks to new enabling technologies such as reusable launch systems, and additive manufacturing: large orbital solar energy collection facilities, fueling stations for geo-lunar and interplanetary transports, lunar and asteroid raw material processing plants, orbital, lunar and lunar orbital hotels, orbital yards for construction and assembly of spacecraft for various destinations, low and zero gravity hospitals, lunar and asteroid minerals mining, spinning orbital villages, lunar research, exploration, and industrial infrastructures.

All this opens another chapter that also needs to be urgently addressed: space law, which is firmly bound to the Treaty on the Peaceful Use of the Outer Space, which is the 50th anniversary this year. We will talk about this soon.

In 2017 Space Renaissance will develop, or contribute to, several initiatives as part of the Space Renaissance Tour:

– Nigeria, 18-21 October 2017 – Lead City University, Ibadan, hosts the first event of the Space Renaissance Tour:
The Event’s home page on the Space Renaissance website
The Event on Facebook
The Space Renaissance Nigeria Facebook page

– USA, USIP, October 10th, Outer Space Treaty, 50 Years Anniversary, news will be given on:
the Space Renaissance USA, Inc website. and
the Space Renaissance USA Facebook page

– Italia, Outer Space Treaty, 50 Years Anniversary: an opportunity to boost the adoption of a true space law system, to rule and support civil activities in space, news will be given on:
the Space Renaissance Italia website and
the Space Renaissance Italia Facebook page

– UK, Space Renaissance Tour events will take place in Glasgow and Edinbourgh, stay tuned on:
the Space Renaissance UK Facebook page

Please also don’t forget, to develop all of the above, and more, we do need money… donate to the Space Renaissance Tour Crowdfunding campaign
And join us, registering as a member of the Space Renaissance

May

2017

Manuel Perez and Adriano Autino talk about the USIP event and requirements for an Outer Space Law

Space Renaissance USA, together with Lifeboat Foundation, will held an event, next October 10th 2017, at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington.

The event will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies” (Outer Space Treaty http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html), proposed in 1967, by the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Later it was signed by 106 Countries, and other 24 Countries are going through the process for signing it.

The Treaty was never updated, and it only provides rules for national governments operations in outer space, for the peaceful use of space environment.

In our last international congress (October 2016), SRI approved a short list of requirements, for the quick implementation of an Outer Space Law, to provide rules for civilian activities, expanding human rights into the Outer Space.

Manuel Perez and Adriano Autino discuss relationship among the International and national chapters

Manuel Perez, President of Space Renaissance USA, and Adriano Autino, President of Space Renaissance International, talk about the relationship among the International and the national chapters.

May

2017

World wide call: support the Space Renaissance!

Dear SRI Friends and Supporters,

2017 is a wonderful opportunity, being the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty, to bring to the public attention the theme of the expansion of civilian activities and expanding civilian rights into the Outer Space.

Trying to be coherent with the commitments we took in our last congress, a few months ago, we are developing several projects, in different countries, naming just some of these initiatives:
– a primary Space Renaissance Tour in Nigeria, next October
– an event at USIP, in the USA, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty, and solicit a revision and further implementation of it
– a similar event in Italy, in collaboration with ASI and ESA
– conferences in the UK, with universities in Glasgow and Edinbourgh
– developing Space Renaissance Academy, an high profile Institute for education and outreach.

Besides, the SR International is strongly committed to sustain our supporters in all countries where they are working to create a Space Renaissance Chapter: India, Nigeria, UK, and other ones.

In this respect, i’d like to communicate here what is our spirit and setup, promoting local chapters of SR International.
Local chapters are very important, for us: without local chapters no international organization would exist.
Only local chapters allow people to work together in the real life, and not only on the web. To see each other face to face, and not only via electronic means. A real solidarity and practical sharing of goals and activities can ve developed only by human direct contact. The network is important, of course: just think about how it was hard, for international organizations to develop, 50 years ago, without the world wide web…
The network is a necessary but not sufficient condition, for an international to develop, national groups of activists need to meet, to agree their agendas, to work in their own country reality, political environment, people’s cultural perception level…

SR International is not a political party, we don’t claim to create a world wide political leadership.
The aims of the International are to develop the philosophy, to understand the current status of civilization, by means of our social analysis, and this is what we make in our international congresses.
We give general indications, about priority industrial developments.
We suggest equally cooperation and fair competition, among nations, for the opening of the space frontier, for the extension of civilian rights in outer space. In this respect the International acts like FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
So we encourage peaceful and fair competition, and the generous sharing of know how and experience, achieved by the already space-faring Countries, with the Countries that are initiating their journey into space.

Should a SRI local chapter publically work for the primacy of its Country, for the leadership in the conquer of space? Yes, of course! Any real progress in the human expansion in outer space will be however for the benefit of the whole humanity!
Yes, history will always remember who was first in Earth Orbit, who was first on the Moon, who will be first on Mars, who will be the first capturing and asteroid and transforming it in a geo-lunar habitat…
But noting will prevent others, after the first, to do the same! And the acquired know how will be precious.

So, dear friends and supporters, be patriots, and be earthling citizen, at the same time, and give birth to Space Renaissance local Chapters!

However, i am here today also to ask you for money, to support all what we do.
Your contribute is precious: without your registration fees, we could sustain our websites, our newsletters, our tax duties, nor provide a small support for kicking-off new chapters.

Please register as a member.

If you register to a local chapter, you will be however also a member of the International.
Please also consider a donation.

Also, you can donate to our crowdfunding campaign for the Space Renaissance Tour, if you like so.

If you live in the UK, you might like to contact Ryan J. Curtis, to help him creating the SRI UK chapter.
And, if you live in India, you could write to Sourav Karmakar.

Choose your preferred way, but please support the Space Renaissance!

Ad Astra!

Apr

2017

Elon Musk, Leonardo da Vinci and Wernher Von Braun

It’s been over three months since our last newsletter, and we won’t deny that this break was mainly due to a necessary reflection. Renaissance years are never easy, as history teaches us, and this historical phase is manifesting more and more hectic and contradictory, if not chaotic, events. Political turmoil and movements came about centuries ago, and are doing so again, dividing countries, and offering simplistic answers to complex problems, pushing for change. In fact, today our world looks like a bubbling cauldron, where the global communication network allows the diffusion in real time of information on everything that happens. But the true cultural contribution of the network is a general awareness of the great similarity of all peoples in the world: we share feelings, expectations, aims and desires while simultaneously chasing vastly different goals. This is what the 21^st Century Renaissance looks like, and what we assume the 15^th Century Renaissance was like to the people of that era, with a big difference: thanks to the global network, now we know that all of us humans have the same hopes and fears.

Space Renaissance is both a goal and an astronautical humanist association (and not a political party). Our mission is to accelerate the kickoff of the expansion of civilization into space. Sadly, history tells us that undesirable violence and injustice seem to inevitably accompany all advances the renaissance might bring to humanity, but that does not mean we must stand quietly by when this happens. The first rocket to fly in space, V2, was developed by the Von Braun team at the German Peenemunde base, Hitler’s space research center. The first man to fly in orbit was Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, during the Stalinist dictatorship. Leonardo Da Vinci designed war engines while simultaneously promoting human scientific development. We do not agree with the violence and so promote peaceful, collaborative civilian space development as an alternative to military interests.

What does militarism in space development mean? Is our civilization still so immature that we need to promote control and centralized power in order to rediscover a healthy boost to development? We cannot think (only) this way: humanity has demonstrated maturity in other areas of development and we trust will continue to do so in those that are still devoted to violence. The Renaissance we see is composed of progress-oriented vectors in technology, politics, economics, culture, education, civil rights, etc.

In this turmoil, believing the promises of one politician or another is a mistake: Renaissance is a historical process that goes beyond any individual speech. Actions speak louder than words. Elon Musk, for example, is a leader in space technology development and other innovations, but he is not alone. As we see it, Musk sums up the attitude of astronautical humanists: our priority, our imperative, is to open the outer space to civil activities, expanding human rights over there, and considering outer space an arena where human rights can develop very much further.

The dream of Von Braun was to fly the first rockets in space: should he have spurned the Nazi funds, and faced a firing squad? Wasn’t it better, for all of us, that he chose to pursue his astronautic dream, while pretending to develop a weapon? Historians report the poor combat effectiveness of v2, just because it was too technologically advanced, and was constructed of hard to get metals.

It makes sense, to ask ourselves another question: will land conflicts extend to outer space? Even this is possible. We believe that the opening of the space frontier, and the expansion of civil activities in outer space, can put an end to the global crisis and create a new long Renaissance age, gradually mitigating all social problems, conflicts, making resource wars obsolet, bringing peace and ethical evolution everywhere. It will be a long and complex process, but we think that the symptoms of strong economic recovery will be seen soon, and will be of enormous encouragement, even if, quite hypothetical, some spark of war were initially spread into Earth orbit.

In summary, if our priority is the opening of the space frontier, why should we refuse to work with anyone willing to allocate funds, facilities and patronage in support of this great epoch-making process? If we can even give a positive opinion on the decision taken by Von Braun, and later by the Soviet scientists, working under Hitler and Stalin, why shouldn’t we allow modern innovators to do the same? Should we change our mission, and to strive for a progressive enlightened democracy to be affirmed worldwide before resuming the journey into space? We believe not, because such a goal could never be reached without opening the space frontier. Collaborative efforts involve everyone, just as democratic processes do. Good, bad, friendly or offensive, this is a process for all humanity to participate in. That’s the foundation on which our ideological priorities have been built. This does not change the criticisms that, as humanists, we must make on Hitler, Stalin, and any other promoter of murders and genocide. Therefore we are waiting, but not passively, for the first decisive moves of Earth’s political leaders, for moving forward with the civilian expansion of humanity into outer space.

In 2017 Space Renaissance will develop, or contribute to, several initiatives as part of the Space Renaissance Tour:

Nigeria, 18-21 October 2017 – Lead City University, Ibadan, hosts the first event of the Space Renaissance Tour:

USA, USIP, October 10th, Outer Space Treaty, 50 Years Anniversary, – news will be given on:

Italia, Outer Space Treaty, 50 Years Anniversary, an opportunity to boost the adoption of a true space law system, to rule and support civil activities in space – news will be given on:

UK, Space Renaissance Tour events will take place in Glasgow and Edinbourgh, stay tuned on:

https://www.facebook.com/SpaceRenaissanceUK/

Please also don’t forget, to develop all of the above, and more, we do need money… donate to the Space Renaissance Tour Crowdfunding campaign.

And join us, registering as a member of the Space Renaissance.

Jan

2017

A survey on space tourism

In the near future it may be possible to buy a ticket and travel into space. Indeed, several people have already done so. We would like to know how much you are willing to pay for a trip into space, what kind of trip you might like to take, and how much risk you are willing to accept.

We will ask you two questions about each of three kinds of space trips one might take. There are no right or wrong answers. Please answer exactly what you really think and feel. After these questions there are some optional questions about you. Fee free to ignore these if you prefer. Here’s the first trip:

Trip 1 lasts three to five hours with five other tourists and one staff member in a small capsule. You are rocketed into orbit hundreds of miles above the Earth, jammed into your seat by the acceleration in an adrenaline-pumping experience like no other. You will go around the world two or three times, each orbit taking about 90 minutes. Through small individual windows you will see the heavens and almost the entire Earth from your vantage point far above the clouds. You will experience continuous weightlessness as you move about the cabin in a whole new way. Amenities will be minimal: bottled water, cold finger food, no toilet but a way to urinate. There will be no privacy.

Please reply to all questions here.

The questionnaire was prepared by Al Globus, supported by the ELEO group.

Dec

2016

The SRI Board announced a position paper on civilian space development

Planet Earth, December 21st 2016

The SRI Board announced a position paper on civilian space development

At their meeting on Saturday December 17th, the Board of Space Renaissance International (SRI) approved a position paper on civilian space development, refined during the two months since the 2nd SRI World Congress, and kicked-off the organization of the “Space Renaissance Tour“

(https://spacerenaissance.space/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SRI_Position_Paper_December_2016.pdf)

The position paper focuses the priorities of the international space advocacy association for the next four years, in response to the current global situation, as the Space Renaissance continues to unfold – led by the test-flying of fully reusable sub-orbital launch systems. Such epochal achievement will eventually lead to the dramatic reduction of the cost of traveling to orbit, making commercial civilian and industrial activities in space feasible.

The paper identifies three essential developments, which SRI will support with immediate outreach actions:

Developing Low Cost Access to Earth Orbit
Addressing the issues of the protection of civilian life and health in space, and
Consolidating a suitable set of laws for the global governance of activities in outer space, i.e. to collate and extend international civilian rights in space.

This aspect has particular relevance in view of the coming celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967.

Some key technological advances, including fully reusable rockets and additive manufacturing, will allow the rapid growth of a wide range of manned activities in Earth orbit and provide the first steps towards industrial growth in the region of “near-space” around the Earth and Moon.

SRI will promote and support this ongoing process – encouraging the cultural paradigm shift from quasi-military space exploration to civilian expansion into outer space, which is now overdue in order to create new opportunities and relieve the stresses of a world becoming more crowded and jobless.

Following the recent SRI World Congress resolution, the Board has invited the SRI Executive, in which all the national groups and chapters are represented, to take initiatives in the frame of the Space Renaissance Tour, a broad outreach program aimed at bringing popular awareness of the Space Renaissance, and the urgent need to promote it, to as large a part as possible of the general public world wide.

Also download this press release in pdf format.

Support the Space Renaissance Tour crowdfunding

Join SRI

Dec

2016

Crowdfunding for a Space Renaissance Tour, to support the Renaissance vs. new Middle Ages

Dear friends,

we are living in a very critical age. The Renaissance, which began more than 500 years ago, has developed through several scientific and industrial revolutions, and is now aiming directly towards outer space. Should this step be misunderstood, misinterpreted or set-aside, the Renaissance will be defeated and mankind may enter into yet another dark age. The risks are real, should the current global crisis win over the Renaissance, or if continuing global conflicts emerge with unpredictable consequences. Our duty is to support the Renaissance everywhere, with all of our pacific and positive means.

Two months ago, the Space Renaissance International (SRI) 2nd World Congress updated its analysis of the status of civilization, and defined our program for the next four years, working towards 2020. We have identified three essential developments, which SRI will support with outreach actions: establishing Low Cost Access to Earth Orbit, addressing the issues of the Protection of Civilian Life and Health in Space, and advocating for a suitable set of Laws for the global governance of activities in Outer Space, i.e. to collate, and extend international civilian rights in space.

Some key technological advances, including fully reusable rockets and additive manufacturing, will allow the inception of comprehensive manned activities in Earth orbit, and the first steps for industrialization of the space surrounding the Earth and Moon region.

SRI will promote and support such an ongoing process. Nothing will be easy or discounted. We have a wonderful opportunity, next year, to focus public attention on the civilian space development: the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967. While, in 2018, the UN will convene the fourth International Conference on the peaceful uses of outer space UNISPACE+50 which will define outer space development for the 50 years which lie ahead. It is paramount that the public at large fully understands what is at stake within this few years: extending civilian rights in outer space, in order to allow civilian passengers and settlers to travel, live and work in space. Something that, so far, has been definitely missing, within any space program. Travel in space, for the few private astronauts who have visited the International Space Station, was obtained under military rules: very low protection for human life and health, no warranties, no responsibility from the agencies for possible injuries or health damages, and a long military training needed. Within the perspective of the geo-lunar space civilian development and industrialization, we need a full commitment, both by the scientific community and by governments worldwide, to solve the main life protection issues — cosmic radiations and zero or low gravity — and to define a proper outer space law system.

Our congress approved a very effective program for next four years, including a world wide Space Renaissance Tour, prizes for young artists and scientists, and to develop the Space Renaissance Academy, a wide philosophical, scientific and cultural education project.

But then not make long turns of phrase: we need funds.

In 2016 we made several meaningful steps forward. SRI is now present in almost twenty countries world-wide. In two countries — USA and Italy — we have formally incorporated local non-profit chapters. In two countries — UK and India – chapters will be incorporated in few months. In many other countries our members are working to aggregate supporters for local chapter activities. Everywhere we’ll take public initiatives.

Even so everything we plan to do, basing on volunteer effort, also implies hiring specialized services: web marketing and events management, just to name two. So the very first very urgent step is to create a seed fund, enough to hire the needed services for at least one year.

We have started a crowdfunding campaign, and we are asking you very seriously to help us, in one or both of two ways: