ZPEnergy.com - The Vision for Space Exploration: New Opportunities

The Vision for Space Exploration: New Opportunities - A Speech by NASA ARC Director Simon P. Worden (from Spaceref.com)

"...Other even more exotic possibilities may arise such as experiments into so-called zero point energy. The latter clearly the province of science fiction - but perhaps not forever. Each of these technologies offers an unlimited future, with corresponding rewards for those investing in their development. But each has risks that may well mandate the use of extreme isolation such as the moon offers..."

Editor's note: The following speech was given by NASA Ames Research Center Director Simon P. Worden at the International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles on 7 May 2006. Worden's comments as presented here were transcribed by SpaceRef from an audio recording.

I'm delighted to be here today - although I must say I'm a little "ridden hard and put up wet" as my granddad the farmer used to say. Having just become a government employee again - and I enjoyed the minimal paperwork involved - you know I found out that there's even a form to get your comments on how well the paperwork reduction act is working! There is a benefit of being a new employee - for a while at least I can claim ignorance and seek forgiveness rather than permission for what I have to say.

What I really want to talk about today - the general theme - is the private sector and space exploration. When President Bush announced the new Vision for Space Exploration, a little over two years ago, a lot of us were thrilled. Although I must say to me it felt a bit like Yogi Berra's famous statement "It's déjà vu all over again" time - because I participated in the first President Bush's Space Exploration Initiative.

Then and now the space community got pretty excited and frustrated. We are off to a much better start now than we were in 1989. This is due largely due to the enthusiasm and leadership shown at NASA over the last year. This having been said, you only have to open an issue of the Washington Post or the New York Times or some other paper and see some carping about the exploration. Its too expensive, competes with science, other priorities etc., etc. This is kind of worrisome because, although we have the current supportive Administration, Congress and NASA leadership today, its going to take a couple of decades for us to realize the real objective of expanding human presence in the solar system. And I don't know how we're going to keep up the supportive situation we have today...

Read more: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1119