Kalam lecture delivers bold vision for space, science technology

Kalam lecture delivers bold vision for space, science technology

BY ANNE LUPTON
Special to the Rice News

Aeronautical engineer and former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presented his vision for the future of space in a lecture at Rice University Oct. 18. 

JEFF FITLOW

APJ Abdul Kalam called for the creation of a World Space Council to speed development of extraterrestrial travel and industry.

A near-capacity crowd in the Stude Concert Hall in Alice Pratt Brown Hall heard him outline World Space Vision 2050, his extraordinary vision for using space as a stimulus for international cooperation and problem-solving. Combining large-scale societal missions with low-cost access to space, comprehensive security and exploration and current application missions, Kalam believes this vision could have a profound effect on mankind.

According to Kalam, achieving extraterrestrial projects that will benefit all of society will require reducing the cost of access to space.

“There is definitely a need for space-faring nations to work together to develop reusable launch vehicles, which can bring down the cost of payloads in orbit,” he said.

More global interdisciplinary and interinstitutional research is also needed to realize ideas like delivering energy from space and desalinating seawater with solar power.

For space technology to benefit life on Earth, space must remain weapon-free, Kalam said, and the international community must work diligently to keep geopolitical conflicts from spreading into outer space, which belongs to everyone. To this end, Kalam suggested creating an International Space Force to protect space assets in accordance with international law and in the interest of international peace and cooperation.

Kalam’s vision calls for all space-faring nations to optimize their space capabilities by contributing substantially in technology and resources. One such model, in which India participates, is the Pan-African e-Network, a $100 million initiative of 53 pan-African countries designed to improve education, health-care and e-governance. Kalam believes international cooperation of the magnitude he envisions will speed the transformation of space science into broader applications.

Kalam said he hopes more international partnerships will be formed to help countries and organizations share competencies and undertake the financial and management burdens associated with such large, complex activities.

To achieve his World Space Vision 2050, Kalam proposed establishing a World Space Council.

“The World Space Council, with global participation, could oversee the planning and implementation of exploration, space security and societal missions,” Kalam said. “Such a unified approach will enable the world to see a quantum jump in the progress in space science and technology for the benefit of all the nations of the world.”

Results Kalam believes are possible by 2050 include the distribution of energy throughout the world via solar power and solar-powered satellites, worldwide electronic connectivity through a constellation of communication satellites, provision of safe drinking water using technology designed to desalinate seawater through solar power and development of an industrial complex on the moon and an alternate habitat on Mars.

He stressed the need to “ignite the minds” and attract the imagination of young students and inspire them to make discoveries relevant to the World Space Vision.

Kalam’s lecture was part of the President’s Lecture Series, sponsored by the Office of the President and supported by the J. Newton Rayzor Lecture Fund. The lecture was co-hosted by the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Asian Studies.

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