One of the leading forces in the space habitation movement is the Space Studies Institute (SSI). I honestly thought this organization was history, but as SSI gears up for Space Manufacturing 14 – a conference on the technology on policy needed for space settlement – it is evident that SSI is here to stay and is more determined than ever. I was more certain that SSI was going to complete its mission when I saw the passion of Dr. Lee Valentine and other members of the SSI I interacted with. I was extremely lucky to have Dr. Lee Valentine, a member of SSI from the very beginning and current Executive Vice President, share his passion for space colonization and SSI in an email interview.
AronSora: For people who aren't familiar with SSI or your organization's recent work, can you give a brief history? What have you done in the last year?
Dr. Lee Valentine: SSI is a 33-year-old organization. Let's start off with what we've done. The first thing we did was to support the doctoral thesis of Scott Dunbar who showed that there should be asteroids trapped in orbit about the Earth-Sun Trojan points. These would be the easiest material objects to reach in the entire Solar System. We supported SpaceWatch, which began to discover the large population of Near Earth Asteroids. We developed electromagnetic mass drivers to launch raw materials from the Moon to high Earth orbit. We did much of the development of processes to get engineering materials from the Moon, specifically aluminum and glasses, including glass-glass composite materials. We designed the Lunar Prospector spacecraft that found water at the lunar poles. We did the first separation of raw lunar regolith into feedstocks suitable for industrial processes. We designed power satellites optimized for construction from lunar materials. We developed processes for completely enclosed, all biological life support systems at Cornell University. We supported the development of piston pump technology, now used for high performance, longest life rocket engines. We designed space settlements. I'm sure I'm forgetting other things SSI has done.
In the last year, we moved the office to Mojave, at a considerable savings in overhead. We have organized the next Space Manufacturing and Space Settlement Conference. We have made an investment intended to bring the world's first fully reusable piloted spacecraft into operation next year.
AronSora: So, it is safe to assume that SSI is all about the hardcore engineering around space habitation?
Dr. Lee Valentine: That's only the means to the end, but that would be a fairly accurate summary. Without new technologies that SSI is pioneering, space settlement will not be possible. SSI was created to fill in the missing technical pieces needed to settle the High Frontier.
AronSora: What made you want to join SSI?
Dr. Lee Valentine: The fact that they were capable people working on real hardware projects designed to provide a basis for a real, profitable space economy that would lead to space settlement.
AronSora: Where do you see SSI in 10 years? Would you have completed some of your goals?
Dr. Lee Valentine: I think SSI will be vibrant and pushing hard on the forefront of space development again. I do not expect that we will have achieved our final goal of establishing permanent, self-sufficient settlements in space in 10 years, but I do expect we'll have made huge progress toward building and deploying power satellites and developing technologies for space manufacturing. There are many small technical steps that need to be taken, so yes, we will have met more of those goals
AronSora: In your mind, what is the most compelling reason to inhabit space?
AronSora: In your mind, what is the most compelling reason to inhabit space?
Dr. Lee Valentine: The survival and prosperity of humankind.
AronSora: What can people expect from Space Manufacturing 14, what makes this space conference unique?
Dr. Lee Valentine: This conference focuses on the hardware needed to bring the idea of space settlement from fantasy into reality.
AronSora: Describe to me the atmosphere at a Space Manufacturing. What is it like to be there?
Dr. Lee Valentine: It's exciting if you're interested in space settlement. It's especially good if you like to talk to lots of very smart people with interesting ideas. It's also fun because many people who are famous in the tech world because of their professional accomplishments attend these conferences. So you meet famous physicists, astronauts, mathematicians, robot developers and rocket builders. So it's great to meet people who are working hard toward these goals, and it's great to see the progress from one conference to another..
AronSora: What would Dr. O'Neill, if he was alive today, think of humanity's progress in space?
Dr. Lee Valentine: Professor O'Neill always said that things looked the blackest before the dawn, so I think he would be very optimistic, particularly since we have a new space industry that appears to be able to lower the cost of space transportation by a factor of up to 100 within the next 10 years.
AronSora: Do you have any advice for people who want to support space settlement?
Dr. Lee Valentine: Join SSI. Invest in the capable NewSpace companies. Support the reinvigoration of technology development at NASA and the utilization of the capable commercial space transportation providers for both human and cargo transport to low Earth orbit.
There are a number of technical problems that need solutions before we have a truly mature space transportation system. By that, I mean a system in which you throw away nothing but the propellant, and one in which you can use the vehicle at least daily. Such space transportation will lower the cost by a factor of about 100.
If NASA becomes a good customer for transportation services instead of a competitor, we expect to see a steady reduction in transportation cost by the market force of competition.
AronSora: Thank you Dr. Valentine.
Make sure you register for Space Manufacturing 14 and submit your papers, abstracts are due August 16th. I also suggest you explore the SSI website.
All images from NASA
