Welcome to the first full edition of the GASP Journals. As before, GASP stands for Gimmick Air & Space Program, a new initiative to make air, space, and related capabilities even MORE within the grasp of average people.
How does a new initiative and (if needed) a company get started? Engineering products need to have specifications. A nation needs a Constitution. A small business needs a local / state license. The Pilgrims drafted the Mayflower Compact as the precedent of how to govern their group of explorers and settlers in a new realm . . . not unlike future Space farers.
In the case of the Gimmick Air & Space Program, a charter-draft (which we’ll call a Compact) would do for now . . . and a Unique Name can come later.
What would a Space Program Compact look like? Let’s compare the charter to one of my wife Jessica’s fantastic gluten-free baking recipes (see www.thesweetglutenfreelife.com). It not only has to be functional but also be enjoyable. No one wants cookie that doesn’t have ingredients to make it be healthier (than processed, ingredient treats are), but also taste at least as good. Same holds true for a new Space Program.
<TANGENT NOTE: The tiny Earthnaut Sneak is a fan of Jessica’s Pumpkin Scones. See the story in THIS CHAPTER of The Earthnauts! 🙂>
As a Space Program was meant for Humanity, then the same Space Industry has to keep Humanity within it’s functional operations, namely how those working for it are treated and they treat others in the same Program. So with that said, here’s the recipe:
An Atmosphere for Learning . . . for ALL age and skill levels. These days, there are some corporate-America STEM companies that often prefer to get talent that “already have experience” in a listed job requirement, with little to no room for allowing / encouraging on the job training. This is especially true for middle to late-career professionals (despite it being illegal to discriminate based on age).
GASP’s requirement for STEM professionals, which we will call GASPERs (more on the acronym later) would deliberately allow time to learn new class material, software tools, read library books, conduct small experiments from hobby stores, etc. The ideal STEM professional doesn’t have to have “all the experience” and “high-visibility, industry wide success”, but they do need the following:
If the GASPER has basic skills, but also PASSION, the premium should be on THEM instead of mainstream talent alone. With this you have a statistical likelihood of humility and purity of intent / heart.
As long as an individual GASPER utilizes their newly-learned training skills in creative ways for the job and ASAP, they are fulfilling project requirements.
Best of all is to compensate the GASPERs for taking the courses . . . including the TIME they take it by counting it as work time!
Permission and encouragement to fail, so that success will come quicker. Well-known corporate think tank, IDEO, has set the example of this. Among various methods, they have adopted a trial-and-error, tinker approach. They have said, “Fail Often, So That You Will Succeed Sooner”.
Neil Armstrong once said, “All great societies that became great, were those that dared to explore”. To have a Space Program that is both effective, yet achievable by the average public, you HAVE to have this exploration mind . . . not just for space, but for the learning and knowledge that will get you there.
Lego Master Builders utilize trial-and-error to develop masterpieces. Mindstorms is a great way to study and demonstrates original thinking to get creative devices, vehicles, and robots to work. And it’s fun! Sometimes in the Space Industry, many equate Fun as working for the right agency, for the right subcontractor, at the right time for the right space craft or rocket launch as fast as they can before it’s too late and and there is a downsizing which might involve them and their position. With the GASP program, you can work as long as you’d like and accomplish as much as you can without fearing a random downsizing.
As for the intrinsic value of “failure” Thomas Edison said “I didn’t fail with the light bulb 9,999 times. I learned how NOT to make a light bulb 9,999 times”.
The phonograph, the light bulb, and many other inventions were postulated, fabricated, and successful due to a method that has been used for thousands of years . . . until some modern companies decided it didn’t make “financial sense” which has led to constant aerospace program shutdowns (many on the verge of initial success).
Money is needed, but how it’s raised and used should be to inspire and not to cause stress. Crowdfunding in our world is beginning to help small-scale space efforts get off the ground instead of only the massive industrial titans and the moguls that run them (not that companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic they aren’t valuable in all this).
I wrote recently about Copenhagen Suborbitals, a Danish crowdfunded company that is doing much of what companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are doing . . . but solely from a large crowd of private donors and even greater . . . volunteer (unpaid) labor!
Do the work and don’t publicize it until it actually happens. It’s easier to get the work done and focus when there isn’t the distraction of press and promotion. Sometimes the achievement itself is the best selling point, and GASP needs to follow suit.
Blue Origin has led the example of this, and their leadership has stated that they do not like to publicize until they’ve actually accomplished their goals. SpaceX has much of the attention, but Blue Origin has been able to recover their 1st stage boosters via landing just as easily and dramatically.
Keep the infrastructure to a minimum where possible. Not everyone can necessarily make it into a “centralized location”. Uber and Lyft have demonstrated examples of “on demand” work.
Collage.com is also an example of a company where the centralized office is VIRTUAL, versus literal. The home office is your individualized cube. This does have its limits as far as a Space Program goes, but allow people to work where they’re most comfortable (granted that they’re getting the work done).
Plus, it’s the strongest way for the GASP program to remind their GASPERs that their personal lives ARE VALUABLE, and should not be ignored like sometimes happens in the corporate world (or have to do under threat of dismissal or being laid off due to “ranking”).
Linkedin has many articles how this approach has actually INCREASED productivity in many cases. All of this if / when reasonable of course, but the idea is to treat people and GASPERs like real humans.
As long as both the individual / collaborative work is completed, set your own hours. Once again, Uber and Lyft have paved the way for this initiative. The GASPER’s duty is to do their individual job. Coordinate with the teammates and help them where / when they need, but the participants should be treated as professionals. As long as the job’s done, set your own hours. In slower times, a doctor’s appointment, a child’s program, or an outdoor hike could be done, and this is showing itself to be effective.
Europe is toying with a shorter work week (25 or so hours) and weekends are increasingly off for rest and rejuvenation. Also in France, it’s illegal to send work-related e-mails after a specific time of the day. The French work hard, but they know when they need to break from work.
For perspective’s sake, do related things like hobbies, museum visits, astronomy, and health pursuits. What gets a Space Program enthusiast and worker involved in the first place? Was it a space toy like RC airplanes, Model Rockets, the Starship Enterprise, or Legos?
A GASPER should be one that openly, routinely does things like visit Science Centers, go on nature hikes, take classes (degrees, certificates, or just for the fun of it), do astronomy, read books on STEM subjects, and so forth. It’s important to stay in the spirit of what the Space Program is really all about, and your work won’t be like a job . . . it will be a passion.
Build Loyalty with the GASP team members. A good GASPER is one that has passion, does what’s been mentioned earlier, and one that is part of a loyal, fun team and enjoys it. Preference should be given to such, those with a positive attitude, and not just the younger professional versus seasoned. Building loyalty with team members while giving mutual respect to getting the job done is a good way to run a Space Program.
This is just the start of the GASP initiative. The greatest takeaway is this:
Star Flight Is For You.
It Is Not A Dynasty.
You Can Fly In Space!
Money is NOT the only factor, and the same thing goes with combatting vain glory. In the midst of this, many people (or would be GASPERs) who have a lot to give are left out due to money, economics, and occasional corporate/political factors. This would be avoided / averted as much as possible once the GASP Initiative gets going.
Without people, and people treating others with human respect on all levels, the Race for Space could keep experiencing multi-decade setbacks due to “low funding”, especially if there’s continuous, sole-reliance on national governments by themselves. Great programs like VentureStar were cut short, just months before success. And without the common man getting involved, the Race for Space will continue to be controlled by big money, political sway and special interests. The Space Industry is Ours . . . ALL of us!
So the inaugural charter isn’t just to build space age technologies, spacecraft, or do research . . . it’s to treat the humans who are making it so like they want to be treated, and given a human environment where they can thrive instead of living in dread of the next layoff or political budget cut which pushes Space quests further off . . . perhaps forever.
For The Great Galactic Space Gimmick, I’m Gimmick Commander Ben Faltinowski!
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