Lt. General Steven Kwast, Dr. Yvonne Cagle, Dr. Jennifery Byrne, and Diana Williams
“We went to the Moon as technicians; we returned as humanitarians.”
—Edgar Mitchell, Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 14
Space is a big deal. Just ask the millions of Earthlings who turned up to theaters to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens a few months ago.
But what will the future of our species really look like in space? And who is preparing for that future? What are the biggest technological hurdles that humanity will need to conquer before we get to Mars? How soon will we have a thriving private sector in space? How will national interests be kept safe in that brave new era?
We connected those dots on Friday night at CAA, where The Exchange presented a fascinating panel on the future of air and space, hosted by none other than Lucasfilm’s Diana Williams, with an impressive and diverse group of luminaries: a general, an astronaut, and a technologist.
What was most interesting about the panelists—aside from their amazing track records—was their diverse approaches to the topic.
Dr. Yvonne Cagle is a NASA astronaut and family physician. Previously a senior flight surgeon for the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Cagle is now doing groundbreaking work to galvanize NASA’s initiatives in biotechnology, sustainable energies, and disaster preparedness.
Dr. Jennifer Byrne is Vice President of Technology at Lockheed Martin. A scientist and engineer by training, she is one of the company’s key leaders in aeronautics, space systems, and information systems and global solutions.
Lt. General Steven L. Kwast is Commander and President of the Air University at Alabama’s Maxwell Air Force Base. He is the former Director of the Air Force Quadrennial Defense Review, which sets the vision for the U.S. Air Force with long-term plans for current and future projects, including space travel. He has flown hundreds of combat hours during operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Allied Force, and Enduring Freedom.
Each panelist has done way more thinking about the future of space travel than the average American, but they have been thinking about different things. Dr. Cagle, who is grounded in medicine but dreams of colonizing the stars, is fascinated with the biological realities of what it would take for humans to live outside our world (for example: how will human embryos gestate in zero gravity?).
Dr. Byrne, who has the precise mind of an engineer as well as canny visions of an imagined future, speaks of rocket ships and transporters that could take us to our distant neighbor Alpha Centauri and beyond.
And Lt. Gen. Kwast, a student of human nature and our eternal proclivity for conflict, imagines the kind of order and security that humans will need on the space frontier. It’s all well and good to celebrate a civilization freed from the shackles of Earth, he believes, but human nature—warts and all—simply won’t change.
The discussion was lively and frequently philosophical. (Why do we reach for the stars? Is peace possible?) But the conversation also got into heavy-duty specifics . . . specifics like the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, which is like an inflatable space hotel that was installed on the International Space Station last week; the Stephen Hawking plan to send nanobots to Alpha Centauri in search of life; and the everyday innovations we enjoy (such as fire-retardant pajamas, solar batteries, and plane de-icing) that are direct results of space research conducted by DARPA and the like.
The panel didn’t always agree, which is one of the signs of a good panel. Lt. General Kwast, pragmatist and warrior, believes that history teaches us that tribalism, conflict, and cultural divides are inevitable, and presumably that we are naive not to bring that understanding to future space endeavors. Dr. Cagle seems a little more idealistic about mankind, hoping that the move to space will unify rather than divide.
Dr. Byrne believes that the space race has the power to unify, even here on Earth: no matter where she travels, those who know technology already speak the same language, right away. She also introduced a powerful concept: the nearly-impossible-to-pronounce Galacticization, referring to the accelerating accessibility of space to humans (much like globalization happened here on Earth in recent decades). Making a home for humans in the stars is no easy feat, but Dr. Byrne discussed promising technologies that could make this possible. (Particularly captivating is the concept of “quantum entanglement,” which could act much like a Star Trek transporter.)
Differences aside, the panelists all agreed that, in order for space travel to advance, we absolutely must cultivate skills, motivation, and vision among young people. Dr. Cagle spoke of the moment when, as a girl, she knew she wanted to travel to the heavens, and she spoke passionately about making sure young people can experience those same dreams. And Lt. General Kwast was especially eloquent when he spoke of the value of innovation, invention, and even storytelling as the keys to tomorrow. Vigor and discipline are important—more so than ever, he believes—but so is a forward-thinking mindset and openness to new ideas that only the young can bring.
What is the future of humans in space? We went into this event thinking about Star Wars, and we left contemplating a future that is even more complex, challenging, and magical (sorry Diana). It was a wide-ranging, provocative few hours in the hushed darkness of the CAA theater, and we walked out into the balmy LA night, the stars twinkling high above the Death Star, with a sense of wonder at the technological feats already accomplished by the space greats on the panel, and a sense of hope at what is possible.
