A South American Space Program
In my previous
books “Revolution 4.0 and the Man of Tomorrow – Part 1 & 2”, I described
how the US has implemented cyclical economic theory to boost growth and
development. But it is also the country that invests que most in military.
Heavy investments in Defense boost technological development but also represent
a high percentage of GDP expenditure. The same could be said for Israel,
where the Army takes a predominant role in people’s lives. Technological
development can be achieved by investing in the best Armed Forces, but at the
expense of putting at risk people´s lives and the human race itself.
Consider that the Nuclear Arms Race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear
warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective
allies during the Cold War. During the 1980s, the main concern was that with
these two superpowers fighting for supremacy World War 3 would break out. The conflict escalated rapidly. If the US produced a weapon, the
USSR would produce a bigger one. Same for planes, spaceships, everything. Some
people became so paranoid that they built a bunker at the back of their houses
to hide food and basic goods waiting for the imminent World War. Can anyone not remember that amazing
movie War Games, where an innocent game almost ends up in WW3? Here is a
reminder…
The
Space Race[93], on the other hand, was a much friendlier way to boost technological
development for both superpowers. They both aimed at conquering the stars, to
show supremacy over their competitor. The USSR beat the US by having the first
orbiting satellite, the Sputnik 1[94] (04/10/1957). The Sputnik 1 provided
scientists with valuable information, by sending signals to Earth. Preoccupied
by the imminent advance of their archrival, the US created the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)[95]. They embarqued on a full
mission to improve it’s Space Program, in addition to fomenting math and
science throughout the country in order to compete with the Soviets. The
Soviets though beat the US once more by sending a dog, Laika, into space in the
Sputnik 2[96] mission, proving that living beings can survive in space. The
mission was a major breakthrough where scientists were able to record and
analyze data. Later, the Vostok space program was responsible for developing
the technology for human space flight. The Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit
of the Earth carrying the first human to journey into outer space, Yuri
Alekseyevich Gagarin[97], on 12/04/1961. The US acknowledged that they should
do stronger efforts in order to stay in the Race. On 31/01/1958, the US
launched the Explorer 1 mission, first US satellite designed to measure the
radiation environment in Earth’s orbit. In an attempt to shift the focus from
the Vietnam war to more productive and meaningful causes, President JFK
supported the Space Program. Take a look at his statement, in a special message
to Congress on Urgent National Needs (25/05/1961):
“These are
extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as
well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in
freedom’s cause (…) If we are to win the battle that is now going on around the
world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which
occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik
in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are
attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. Now it is
time to take longer strides-time for a great new American enterprise-time for
this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many
ways may hold the key to our future on Earth. (…) Recognizing the head start
obtained by the Soviets with their large rocket engines, which gives them many
months of lead-time, and recognizing the likelihood that they will exploit this
lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless
are required to make new efforts on our own. (…) I believe that this nation
should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of
landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single
space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more
important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so
difficult or expensive to accomplish”.
In 1967, Apollo 1[98] was to be the
first manned mission to the Moon but in an unfortunate accident, the three
pilots were killed. In 1968, Apollo 7[99] though proved a success, by remaining
in orbit for 7 days. Apollo 8[100] cleared to make a lunar orbit around the
Moon, their crew being the first to see the far side of the Moon. The Space
Apollo Program had made significant progress but still had not surpassed the Soviets.
The American people were promised that they would have a man on the moon and
this was the perfect time to make a historic move. NASA announced that a man
would step foot on the Moon with their NeXT mission: Apollo 11[101]. This was
the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon.
Americans Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin
and Michael Collins landed on July 20, 1969. Armstrong became the first to step
onto lunar surface 6 hours after landing, Aldrin joining 20 minutes later.
Collins piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and
Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth. The
Apollo spacecraft had three astronauts; and the only part that landed back on
Earth was a Service Module (SM), which supported the Command Module with
propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a Lunar Module (LM) for
landing on the Moon. After being sent towards the Moon, the astronauts
separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered
into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and
rejoining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in
the Pacific Ocean on July 24. The event was broadcasted on live TV to a
world-wide audience. In Argentina, the country where I was born and raised in,
20th of July is commemorated as “Friend’s Day”. Reaching the Moon meant the
beginning of a New Age for mankind. Having achieved the impossible, the human
race finally came to realize that if we can get to space, then there might be
many other species out there that have done the same. Science Fiction was
always one of my favorites, and stories of Space Travel have plagued us since
the beginning of times. The Egyptians already imagined helicopters, spaceships
and missiles. The Mayans developed the most sophisticated calendar, predicting
a new era of changes for mankind from 2012. Did they actually have exposure to
alien life? It is difficult to say, but it would not be surprising. Those of us
who are amazed with the vastness of space believe that U.F.O.s are real, and
that real aliens live amongst us, occasionally spying us. How long will it be
until we actually meet intelligent alien life?
The Space Race
concluded with the successful Apollo 11 Mission and the capabilities of the US
space technology to land on the Moon. After this event, the Soviets were unable
to develop technology fast enough to match the efforts of the United States in
space exploration. In July 1975, the United States and the Soviet Union decided
to work together in order to pursue cooperative efforts in space endeavors with
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Agreement. In the 1970s, the US began developing a
new generation of reusable orbital spacecraft known as the Space Shuttle[102],
and launched a range of unmanned probes. The USSR continued to develop space
station technology with the Salyut program and Mir space station. They also
developed their own large space shuttle under the Buran program. The US and Russia worked together in
space with the Shuttle-Mir Program, and again with the International
Space Station (ISS).
The ISS is a space station, or
habitable satellite in low Earth orbit. It is the largest artificial body in
orbit and consists of pressurized modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and
the other components. It serves as microgravity and space environment research
laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology,
physics, astronomy, meteorology and other fields. It is suited for the testing
of spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars.
The station is serviced by a variety of visiting spacecraft, and has been
visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations
(none of them South American). The station is divided into two sections, the
Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS),
which is shared by many nations.
We can see now the two superpowers in
the Cold War hopped on the Space Race to drive innovation and show
supremacy. A Space Project is not an expense, a waste
of money, but a long term investment. How far has South America come when it
comes to Space Exploration? Not very far, unfortunately. Due to a short term
mentality, countries have never understood the importance of investment in
scientific research and development. One of the reasons that the South American
region might not be considered developed is that lack of presence in Space. In
2011, Argentina proposed the creation of a South American Space Agency with
Brazilian support[104]. “It would be vital for our region to have a South
American Space Agency, which can be achieved by adding all our technological
know-how and forces. The idea of a space agency is not an imitation of Europe
but rather for our defense, we will have much more to defend and control from
space”, said Argentine Defense minister Arture Puricelli. Consider that the
military superpower in South America is Brazil. Whatever strategic action that
will be taken in the region should be performed under their leadership. One of
the key factors for success for any project is financing. International Aid can
be provided from foreign governments or private companies that already possess
space technology and are willing to provide it to Latin American states for the
right price. However, money is never the issue. A region
so rich in natural resources could again create a fund to invest directly in a
joint Space Project. The key of course would be to ensure the fund’s
transparency, and that all the nations in the region contribute in a proportion
comparable to their economies. Foreign aid then is much more valuable when it
comes to knowledge transfer and practical experience. From that perspective,
once more, the region should seek guidance from the US + UK + Russia + China. Will the leaders understand the need to
consolidate and unify the region, in order to reach a joint development? Will
they understand the need to look for synergies and work as a bloc, and not as
individual nations? All of these challenges, and more, I discussed in my
previous releases: “Revolution 4.0 and the Man of Tomorrow – Parts 1 & 2”.
Some examples of advances in satellite technology in South America
include[105]:
-
Chile:
FASAT-Charlie satellite (in joint partnership with UK) deployed on December
2011. It can take 2D and 3D photographs of Chilean territory with a particular
emphasis on the country’s topography, such as glaciers and volcanoes.
- Venezuela: Venesat 1, known as “Simon Bolivar”, launched from the Xichang
Space Centre in China on Oct. 2008.
- Bolivia: Tupac Katari built between Bolivia’s state-run agency and the
China Great Wall Industry Corporation, will benefit Bolivia in areas such as
education, medicine and communication.
- Argentina: ARSAT-1 is the first geostationary satellite built in Latin
America. It offers a wide range of telecommunications, data transmission,
telephone and television services. Consider that, of all the countries in the
South American Region, Argentina is the most technologically developed. From
that perspective, it has the responsibility of taking the lead from a
technological and knowledge perspective. Software, Robotics and
Telecommunications are the strongest in the region, due to a highly creative
culture, but also a strong educational system especially at Public University
level.
Within it’s
thriving eco-system of Start-Ups, we can highlight a nanosatellite company:
www.satellogic.com. Aimed at democratizing access to space-based services by
dramatically reducing barriers to obtain real-time satellite data, creating a
new layer of world-wide awareness. Monitoring changes in real time on planetary scale
will transform our relationship with the planet, and help us tackle the most
pressing challenges. New data streams of unprecedented granularity will
revolutionize daily decision-making processes for all branches of government,
organizations, businesses and individuals. Satellogic is packing it’s
satellites with the latest available components and its own proprietary
technology. The result: a powerful combination that allows us to serve
commercial-grade imaging and data from space at a small fraction of the
cost of traditional solutions. Some of it’s applications
include Agriculture, Pipeline Monitoring, Critical Infrastructure Monitoring,
Disaster Response, Illegal Logging, Border Patrol, Port Security, Business
Intelligence, etc. The
nanosatellites represent a disruptive innovation in the satellite industry, by
lowering the cost by between 1.000 and 10.000 times compared to traditional
satellites, and being designed and produced by university students!!!
The Space Race marked the Third
Industrial Revolution, living us as legacy many innovations. It marked a new
era for communications and satellites, as well as stressed the importance of
spending on education, research and development. The Fourth Industrial
Revolution takes this concept to a whole new level. Before, technological
development was restricted to large capital investment. Today, entrepreneurial
spirit is as stronger than ever. The government provides the infrastructure,
the aid, the benefits. But it is the entrepreneurs who will EXECUTE. A serious
long term plan for technological development must be put in place in the South
American region, with Brazil as flagship and Argentina as technological leader.
Examples in the Start-Up community show that things are happening. But the
governments must also align in order for them to pursue a common interest, so
that wealth is distributed throughout the region as a whole.
“One small step for man, one giant Leap
for Mankind”
– Neil Armstrong.
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