An interruption that can’t be avoided. I never realized that so many non-Centauri Dreams obligations were about to converge this fall, but it’s now clear I won’t be able to keep the site stocked with new stories for the next couple of weeks. I’ll do my best to keep up with comment moderation during this period, though there may be interruptions. See you later in the month when things get a bit more normal.
The Tau Zero Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to developing the capability for interstellar robotic exploration and human travel, has selected Dr. Andrew Aldrin as chief business strategist on our board of directors. In this role he will provide pragmatic objectivity, and insight while advocating for the nonprofit’s mission.
“The frequency of the discovery of exo-planets around the nearby stars to the Sun highlights the importance of our mission,” said Rhonda Stevenson, president and CEO of Tau Zero Foundation. “We invited Dr. Aldrin to join the Foundation’s board because his retained objectivity and pragmatic approach will be helpful to narrowing our focus to the development of technologies with the greatest potential for practical application in the near future. As a space industry veteran with an exceptional talent for strategic management and assimilating advanced technology concepts into viable programs, Dr. Aldrin brings immeasurable value to our Foundation, and we are very excited to have him on our team.”
Dr. Andrew Aldrin currently serves as the Director of the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute (BASI) and is an Associate Professor at Florida Institute of Technology. BASI is a multidisciplinary institute created to advance space exploration and development toward the goal of establishing and maintaining a permanent human presence on Mars. Prior to FIT, Dr. Aldrin was President of Moon Express, responsible for day-to-day operations for the company. Prior to coming to Moon Express, Dr. Aldrin was Director of Business Development and Advanced Programs at United Launch Alliance where he oversaw development of corporate strategies, business capture, senior customer relations and advanced program development for civil space markets. Before ULA, Dr. Aldrin headed Business Development and Advanced Programs for Boeing’s NASA Systems, and Launch Services business units. He has also served as a Resident Consultant at the RAND Corporation and Professional Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Dr. Aldrin holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from UCLA, an MBA from TRIUM, a MA in Science Technology and Public Policy from The George Washington University, and a MA in International Relations from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is an Adjunct Faculty member at International Space University and has been Adjunct Faculty at the University of Houston and California State University at Long Beach. He has served as ShareSpace Vice Chairman since its inception in 1998.
Tau Zero is a 501(c) non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating progress toward the scientific breakthroughs required to support interstellar flight. The Foundation’s efforts, driven by the experts most capable of addressing the formidable challenges of interstellar flight, include fundamental scientific research, encouraging and supporting academic involvement in sciences related to its goals, empowering youth in this quest, forging collaborations for cross-fertilization, and engaging governmental and industry support on a global scale.
Tau Zero’s motto is Ad Astra Incrementis – to the stars in ever-expanding steps.
The other day on the hugely enjoyable Galactic Journey site, I ran into an interesting historical tidbit. Here, from the 1753 Cyclopædia: or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences by Ephraim Chambers is a definition of the word ‘interstellar.’
And with a modernized presentation:
“Interstellar, is a word used by some authors to express those parts of the universe that are without and beyond our Solar system; in which are supposed to several other systems of planets moving around the fixed stars as the centers of their respective motions: and if it be true, as it is not improbable, that each fixed star is thus a sun to some habitable orbs, that move round it, the interstellar world will be infinitely the greater part of the universe.”
Another early instance of planetary systems around other stars in wide circulation at an early date. Chambers was working for John Senex, a London-based globe-maker, when he conceived the plan for his Cyclopædia, a project to which he soon devoted his entire attention. The first edition appeared by subscription in 1728 in a two volume, 2466 page folio, but the work, one of the first general encyclopedias to be published in English, would see numerous further editions, including one in Ireland as well as an Italian translation.
Those of you who are not yet familiar with Galactic Journey will want to remedy the lack, especially if you enjoy science fiction as much as most Centauri Dreams readers do. The site is something of a time machine, written from the perspective of science fiction magazines and events of over 50 years ago, and what’s delightful to me is that I often find issues of Analog or Fantastic discussed that I bought off the newsstand when they appeared. And because I love magazine fiction, every one of those issues is still here on my shelves, approximately ten feet from where I’m now writing.
We’re pushing into holiday travel time, so I’m going to close up shop until next week. Let me wish all of you a happy season and thank you for the comments and suggestions with which you’ve always enlivened the site. We have much to talk about in coming days, but for now, safe journey to all of you on the road.
Hurricane Matthew’s effects continue to be felt in the form of flooding, power outages and downed trees. I’m now told not to expect power for 4-6 days. The situation obviously impacts my ability to post here. I’ll try to keep up with comment moderation when possible. Will get things back to normal whenever the lights come back on.
No Centauri Dreams posts this week — I’ll be back next Monday. I’ve been running hard and it’s time for a break. I’ll keep up with comment moderation as best I can, though I’m going to be trying to catch up with many long overdue commitments outside the interstellar field in coming days. As always, thanks to all for the continuing support. See you soon!
I’m at the Breakthrough Starshot meetings in San Francisco, with a full schedule indeed. As I did last time in Palo Alto, I won’t try to post daily because there just won’t be time, and in any case, I will need to go over my notes and consolidate my impressions. Even so, I plan to slip something interesting in here in the near future (keep an eye on Wednesday afternoon EDT), and will try to keep comment moderation active, though probably on a more infrequent basis than usual. Next week I’ll report in on what happened at the committee level at Breakthrough Starshot.
