Lifeboat Foundation

In aerospace, parts are complicated, and manufacturing them can be very expensive and time consuming. When rocket engine parts can take up to a year to make, it is very difficult to start a new rocket company and for aerospace companies to be cost effective, innovative and nimble.

These barriers to entry are why you don’t see many start-up space companies and why the industry has relied on the same basic engine designs as those built during the Apollo program.

3D printing is changing all that. At Virgin Orbit, we are building a rocket system that will send small satellites into orbit. We aim to open access to space for small satellites to improve life on earth through services such as internet connectivity to the under connected and data for planning, production, disaster mitigation etc.

Continue reading “How 3D printing is changing the future of the space industry” »

The first 3D printer from Made In Space was installed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2014. The idea sounds cool, but many ordinary earthlings have yet to feel its impact.

The start-up, based at NASA Ames Research Center in California, has since installed a second 3D printer on the ISS. The Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) is the first commercial 3D printer in space. Brought to the ISS in 2016, the AMF is already printing orders for commercial customers, including the first 3D-printed advertisement in space, a crowdsourced sculpture and projects for educational programs, such as Enterprise In Space.

With the AMF, the implications are starting to become clear. 3D printing in space isn’t just meant to be a novelty, but a technology that enables humanity’s proliferation throughout the cosmos. Now, it’s possible for customers with a small wad of cash to 3D print plastic objects on the ISS, but, if Made In Space’s plans pan out, we may see a future in which those customers can head to space themselves.

Continue reading “The Future of NewSpace” »

Here’s a very important article to me—and a part of my platform moving forward. Automation is coming, but we don’t need to raise taxes to pay for a Basic Income. There are other ways to deal with our jobless future and poverty in America.

Like the Titanic, capitalism is sinking, but few passengers are wondering yet if there are enough lifeboats.

I recently declared my run as a Libertarian for California governor in 2018, and I gently support the idea of a state-funded basic income to offset the effects of ubiquitous automation. A basic income would give every Californian some money — and it makes sense to start such a dramatic program here in the Golden State, since this is where much of the human-job-replacing-tech is created.

Continue reading “Is monetizing federal land the way to pay for basic income?” »

Skilled artisans are becoming obsolete.

This gadget can knit you a sweater.

Adobe automatically makes your selfies better.

American Revolution Records from the American Revolutionary War indicate that at least a few Muslims fought on the American side. Among the recorded names of American soldiers are “Yusuf ben Ali” (a member of the Turks of South Carolina community), “Bampett Muhamed” and possibly Peter Salem.

The first country to recognize the United States as an independent nation was the Sultanate of Morocco, under its ruler Mohammed ben Abdallah, in the year 1777. [23] He maintained several correspondences with President George Washington.

Scientists develop a new method to regrow microscopic hair cells that pick up sound.

From the archives.

Our Earth and Sun continue to have a delicate relationship. Credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.

Complex life here on earth will hit a habitability wall in only 500 million years; not in an almost languorous 1.75 billion years, as reported in a recent global media flap.

Continue reading “Life On Earth To Hit Brick Wall In Another 500 Million Years” »