Harold Nelson

Doubling Down: Progress on Space Debris Mitigation and Remediation The recent article by Ian Christensen highlights significant strides in space debris mitigation and the ongoing challenges of remediation. As a space journalist, I find these developments crucial for space sustainability. Key Developments: - **European Space Agency**: 12 countries and 40+ companies signed the Zero Debris Charter, aiming for no net addition of debris by 2030. - **India's ISRO**: Committed to “Debris Free Space Missions” by 2030. - **US FCC**: Refining orbital debris mitigation requirements to protect current and future services. The Challenge of Existing Debris: While mitigating future debris is essential, we can't ignore the risks posed by over 25,000 tracked objects already in orbit. Efforts to remediate these face technical, political, and economic hurdles. However, advancements in satellite servicing and in-space logistics are paving the way for active debris removal (ADR). Promising Initiatives: - **Europe, Japan, UK**: Leading ADR pilot programs. - **NASA**: Policy shift to fund debris remediation technologies. Need for Government Action: Further government action is needed to sustain and scale these programs. NASA's recent study suggests debris remediation can offer comparable risk reduction per dollar spent as mitigation efforts, highlighting the value of investing in these technologies. Looking Ahead: The upcoming 6th Summit for Space Sustainability in Tokyo will explore key questions on debris remediation, aiming to catalyze operational deployment and ensure a sustainable orbital environment. Ensuring sustainable and scalable outcomes in debris remediation, coupled with strong mitigation commitments, is crucial for the future of space activities. Ian Christensen, Senior Director, Private Sector Programs at the Secure World Foundation, encapsulates the urgency and necessity of these efforts. Let's continue pushing for progress in both space debris mitigation and remediation to secure our space future. https://lnkd.in/edycqHjy

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The latest episode of URGENT FUTURES featuring Eric Czuleger is live! This was a fantastic conversation the kicks off with the (deceptively simple) question: what's a country? It's a question that Eric explores in great detail in his book, 'You Are Not Here: Travels Through Countries that Don't Exist.' Because Eric has also had experience working in the tech industry, we also dug into questions around the future of the nation state through the lens of technologies like blockchain, examining the possibilities and limitations he perceives. That and much more over at Reality Studies: https://lnkd.in/gi_KGq8r #geopolitics #blockchain

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We have entered a new phase of information warfare, which I designate “epistemological warfare.” The aim of epistemological warfare isn’t just to attack nations and their populations with false, misleading, obfuscating, or confusing information and propaganda in support of larger strategic objectives. It goes much further by launching a full-scale assault on the critical faculties and judgment of friendly nations, populations, and leaders. 

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I recently talked about NTI's Oppenheimer campaign, the need for global fail-safe reviews, and the landscape of nuclear threats with Physics Today. Read full Q&A here: https://buff.ly/3XJZued

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This week's research and expertise-building project centered on finishing Virginia Dignum's book, Responsible ArtificiaI Intelligence: How to Develop and Use AI in a Responsible Way, and sharing my take-aways. A huge thanks to Merve Hickok alerted me a while back to Dignum's book, after I expressed my enthusiasm for her presentation at a webinar through Northeastern. Although there are many moments in the book that I appreciate, the book centered on Dignum's charge to US, all of us, to act according to the "code of behavior" that can help us ensure AI systems uphold human rights and dignity and benefit all in society. She offers guidance on how we can do that while exposing the many human choices in the design, development, testing, and use of AI systems. As a humanities person exploring Responsible AI, I also appreciate her emphasis on the transdisciplinary nature of AI and AI systems because they are sociotechnical systems across their lifecycle. The book is clear, direct, and includes some helpful illustrations and charts; I see myself reviewing the Quick Guide to Machine Learning (p25) and the illustration of how ART Principles apply to the adaptability, interaction, and autonomy aspects of AI systems (p53) frequently. The book is practical, prescient (I kept verifying that was published in 2019 vs 2023), and informative. Overall, a great reference to keep on hand as discussions around AI policy, developments, and incidents evolve.

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Diagram to scale (https://lnkd.in/en7tmr66)

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#Starlab—with half the volume of the ISS—will fit inside #Starship’s payload bay "Building and integrating in space is very expensive." https://bit.ly/3Tj6j3L via Ars Technica by Eric Berger #SpaceStation #Space Starlab is a joint venture between the US-based Voyager Space and the European-based multinational #aerospace corporation Airbus. The venture is building a large station with a habitable volume equivalent to half the pressurized volume of the International Space Station (ISS). The Starlab commercial space station will launch on SpaceX's Starship rocket no earlier than 2028. "SpaceX is the unmatched leader for high-cadence launches and we are proud Starlab will be launched to orbit in a single flight by Starship," said Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager Space. Starlab will have a diameter of ~26 feet (8 meters). It is perhaps not a coincidence that Starship's payload bay can accommodate vehicles up to 26 feet across in its capacious fairing. "We looked at multiple launches to get Starlab into orbit, and eventually gravitated toward single launch options," said Marshall Smith, the CTO of Voyager Space, It saves a lot of development & integration costs, " he added. "One of the many lessons we learned from the International Space Station is that building and integrating in space is very expensive." With a single launch on a Starship, the Starlab module should be ready for human habitation almost immediately, Smith said. Starlab is one of several privately developed space stations vying to become a commercial replacement for the ISS, which NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration is likely to retire in 2030. Other contenders include Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and VAST Space. SpaceX may also configure a human-rated version of Starship as a temporary space station. #NASA has provided seed funding to some of these companies, including Voyager Space, and is expected to hold a second round of competition next year - when it will select one or more companies to proceed with building & testing their stations. The challenge for Starlab & other commercial stations is developing a customer base beyond NASA to support the expense of flying & operating stations. NASA spent >$100 billion constructing the ISS and has a $3 billion annual budget for operations and transportation of people & supplies. The agency is likely to fund commercial space stations at ~$1 billion a year, so these companies must build their facilities relatively quickly at low cost and then find a diverse base of customers to offset expenses. Starlab may have an advantage with its co-ownership by Airbus. The European Space Agency - ESA will likely be reticent about funding missions to #PrivateSpaceStations owned and operated by US companies. The involvement by Airbus, therefore, makes Starlab attractive to European nations as a destination.

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"Addiction Focused Special Libraries are beyond the point of “in decline”, they are now an endangered species. While there were over one hundred such libraries a few decades ago, there are only a handful left. Collective Amnesia: Reversing the Global Epidemic of Addiction Library Closures written over a decade ago delineates the vital importance of libraries and librarians in preserving, cataloging and supporting our field and the transfer of accurate information generationally. We simply cannot depend on Google to serve that role; it simply is not adequate. The Googlization myth is that everything is accessible via this internet search engine and it is simply a falicy. Can we imagine dismantling the Library of Congress or our Libraries of Medicine under the rationalization that people can find the information on the internet? We have lost significant treasures of historical and academic significance since the era of special addiction library dissolution was initiated. How much more can we bear to lose? What does this say about our field and what we value? Do we think that a major area of study can exist and continue to develop without a preserved knowledge base?" - Bill Stauffer & William White

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How is this different from climate activists blocking roads and building entrances or destroying art and other public property? How is this different from anti-Israel protestors defacing monuments, blocking public buildings, blocking roads, and destroying public property? How is this different from the Antifa riots that destroyed police vehicles, damaged public buildings and assaulted innocent civilians? Go ahead, try and defend it. This administration has got its priorities all wrong … she gets 3 yrs in prison while all the protestors listed above get a hand slap (with only a few minor exceptions). If you want people to have faith in the justice system then you have to administer it fairly and equally regardless of beliefs and political affiliation. Vote policies, not party Stay strong, stay free

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The Pentagon's Beefed-Up Climate Strategy: Introducing Lab-Grown Meat to Military Rations 🍔🌍 The U.S. Military Considers Lab-Grown Meat to Reduce Climate Impact 🌍🍔 The Pentagon is exploring ways to incorporate laboratory-grown meat into military ration packs as it grapples with its significant contribution to climate change. The U.S. Defense Department estimates its emissions at 51 million tons of CO2 in 2021 - equivalent to Sweden's total output. 🛡️🇺🇸 However, critics argue the military is wasting time on "nonsense" and risks losing sight of America's biggest threats. One commentator stated: "It's a shame that we're going to find out the hard way who our real enemies are, as we're, you know, don't think China, Russia and Iran are worried about lab-grown meat. They're worried about taking over the world. And we're not." 🤦‍♂️ The move comes as a group of researchers claimed last year that the U.S. military owes at least $106 billion in climate change reparations to affected countries. As the Pentagon looks to reduce its environmental footprint, the introduction of lab-grown meat in ration packs could be one step toward this goal. 💰🌍 What are your thoughts on the U.S. military's climate initiatives? Let me know in the comments below! 💬 #USMilitary #ClimateFight #LabGrownMeat #FoodTechnology #GlobalWarming #DefenseIssues

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[WATCH] how the crowd reacts after I explain why #Tradition is NOT the enemy of #Progress. 👀 NDN Cultures are ALIVE... Whether NDNs are doing something “traditional” or “modern” Our #NDNWays are reflected through the relationships we maintain. ❤️ #StrategicPlanning in #NDNCountry can be the same way. +++ WALKS IN THE DAWN are Strategy Facilitators for NDN Tribes + Tribal Organizations that are dedicated to promoting our NDN Ways. We offer NDN savvy solutions to fix your Tribe or Tribal Organization's unique challenges by encouraging your Tribal Community to embrace their NDN identity in every aspect of their lives. Our approach honors the TRADITION of adapting and evolving... We embrace the ability of our NDN Ways to solve NDN Country's contemporary issues by reclaiming our sacred communal relationships with each other. NDN SOLUTIONS - FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS + Visit walksinthedawn.com to relieve your Tribe or Tribal Organization's unique challenges.

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Figure 4 from the new article out now in the latest issue of JAMS- "Breaking the Newtonian Fetish: Conceptualizing War Differently for a Changing World." Why we fixate on simplistic geometry as a way of reducing complex reality into manageable, yet fragmented and often insufficient/misleading chunks. https://lnkd.in/gGk_pP6j #design #innovation #technology #leadership #strategy #change #complexity #ai #agi #artificialintelligence #defense #NATO #education #army #marines #navy #airforce #space #spaceforce #warstudies

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Going through the Institute for Liberal Studies' Freedom Week applications with Matt Bufton and Sabine El-Chidiac, MA yesterday. My observation about using AI for writing applications: The problem isn't that you will sound like a robot or the AI will write something false (I suspect students check for that), but that LLMs will give the same answer for every student that uses them. After a few dozen applications, we knew what AI thinks is the best big change to make in universities or to improve the world in 100 years. Those answers don't tell us about the applicant. I started treating AI answers almost as if the student hadn't responded to the question. I suspect that was not always fair! But we've got to work with the information available to us, and there are a lot of applications to read. AI can be used to fill out an application! But think about what the application is supposed to accomplish and how the tools available could help or hurt. We accept about one in four people who apply for Freedom Week. Some students who applied using AI would be great participants but will be passed up just because they didn't give us enough information to know we should choose them over three others. That's too bad.

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In the days of yore circa 1820, had there not been an incidental compass on the desk beside Oersted’s demonstration of an electric current, science would have forked into a more logical cosmos; at least for a little while. B4 long, perhaps he would have tired of tinkering with one conductor and added another one parallel to it, and Eureka!; he would have seen them bend in when the current was co-parallel and spread out when anti-parallel.  Aware of Bernoulli, he would have deduced that the current drags along an ether wind with it. Like winds attract, unlike winds repel. But alas there was a conjuring compass, and Eureka!; it pointed around the conductor and this became the limb that physics followed, where cause vectors, having perpendicular effect vectors, prevailed over common sense. The diagrams here show results on the rational fork limb, where magnetism flows parallel with its conductor, not encircling it. A: Mini paddlewheel impellers track the central magnetic vortex expanding out from both poles of a coreless coil, then feeding back over its waist. B:. Suspended mini-impellers representing iron filings are caught in the central major vortex wind, which turns them slowly. This motion chip-starts battery power to the impeller’s mini motors. These now generate their own mini vortexes or vortlets; They spin-feed back into the major vortex, and/or spin out into free Space. Colored smoke reveals all. C: Shows iron filings aligned in the eyes of vortlet tunnels like Helmholtz filaments. Note there are no filament tunnels or lines of force without the presence of iron filings. D: Shows vortexes remaining independent ‘a’; or melding after a short distance ‘b’. E: Shows the vortexes remain independently confined between opposite poles.                                           Experiment A and B can simply demonstrate the fluidity of magnetism in any high school laboratory, If looks like a roo, and hops like a roo, then it is a roo! Post Copernicus, the orthodox academic’s Sun, dogmatically circled the Earth for another 100 years. For preview click www.yowahbooks.com

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tecnofascists have been using science fiction narratives to brainwash the masses for a very long time in regards to science policy. This isn't anything new. Science Fiction as the Blueprint: Informing Policy in the Age of AI and Emerging Tech Abstract This issue brief examines the complex interplay between science fiction and technology development in the age of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and brain-computer interfaces. As the line between science and fiction continues to blur, this brief argues for strategically using science fiction narratives to inform and guide technology development and policymaking. 1.https://https://lnkd.in/dJxmCbHF 2. Full PDF. https://lnkd.in/dFn2-mMP

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Space. It's what we many of us dream about as kids, and then life happens for most. I do not have 2 PHDs. I am not an engineer. I thought it would be impossible to ever work in the space industry. I was wrong. The intersection of commercial #newspace startups and my skillsets eventually led me to an opportunity to work in space. The industry is both larger in opportunity and smaller in size than I had imagined. Here's a quick synopsis of what I've learned along the way to help others looking to walk a similar path. 1. There are many places you can land that are in the space industry where your skills may be useful. Upstream activities (science, R&D, manufacturing, launch, satellites, satellite and debris clean up systems, moon missions, mars missions etc) are places where if you want to be a part of a team from building satellites, rockets, or even space release actuators that hold things down during launch and release them on orbit. Downstream activities generally refer to services and data that result from the upstream sector. If you want to work with companies that utilize the research and technology from the companies going to space to help climate change, affect the planet, develop products and services that rely on satellite data and more, downstream is where you should focus. 2. Acronyms Abound. I personally have worked in multiple industries with their own jargon (tech, especially) - but I have never seen a more impenetrable wall of acronyms and jargon than in the space industry. The good news is that the companies involved in the industry and are looking to hire from outside the space industry are aware of this fact and will help you learn the lingo. I'm almost a year in and still learning! 3. Timezones may vary. The amazing thing about the space industry is that it is a global industry. Keep in mind if you end up working for an overseas company, you may need to shift your working hours to be able to accommodate team meetings and having an effective workday where you can communicate and collaborate with your teams. 4. It is an immensely rewarding industry. While I cannot speak for all newspace companies you will interact with, the one I am currently working with is a mix of startup, big, hairy audacious goals and a talented, passionate group of people who are building things to push space exploration and capability forward. I get to touch things that physically are going into space. I get to help other companies who want to send something into space turn that dream into a reality. It's a pretty amazing thing at the end of the day. And although I do not have 2 PHDs, cannot speak 4+ languages nor can build ...well, anything... I DO have knowledge and experience that I can bring to the table that those kind and patient folks I work with do not. And so do you. So if you're looking for a change, perhaps look up. Maybe for the first time in years.

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to help improv the health & resilienc of public lands in face of a changing climat; conserv important wildlif habitat & intact landscapes; facilitat responsibl devlpmnt; and better recogniz uniqu cultural & natural resources on public lands ~

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Clear and convincing reason why to step up Utility inspections in fire risk areas: https://lnkd.in/gaqM7ucp

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