Creating Starfleet Academy (Ongoing)
Keith’s note: As most of you know by now, Charlie Bolden is relentless in his focus on the value of education.
What if you were inclined to create NASA’s version of Starfleet Academy to prepare students for a career in space exploration. What would it do? What location(s) would be best? What age group(s) should it focus on? What courses would it teach? What skills would it emphasize?
I am not talking about recreating ISU. Rather, I am talking about something much broader and technically oriented – an education that actually equips students to be able to participate in all aspects of space exploration including hands-on experience with hardware, software, operations, design, and science.
What if students were to get out of the classroom and actually go on “away missions”, take real risks, get dirty, make decisions in a real operational environment – both in the control room and in the field? What if students could also participate regardless of where they live?
Where should the academy begin? College? High school? Grammar school? Should the academy focus only upon training people to eventually work in space exploration or also focus on things relevant to other non-space fields?
Serious replies, please. If you have not registered, now is a good opportunity to do so.
Oh yes, for those of you who get these things, here’s a word cloud (NASA.gov uses them) based upon your responses thus far. Watch it morph as you comment – but you need to comment in order to make it morph – and evolve.
college. make it a volunteer program. maybe make it so the interested individual can go to training while earning a degree in a similar field.
I would be glad to spend every waking moment learning Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, and Astrophysics in hopes of being part of some type of space program. With current technologies claiming to slow ageing i have even more hope of seeing this dream come to light.
i see it as a space westpoint for the world under the guidance of the united nations…aint gonna happen
I think we should make the academy international, and every school that wants to participate could get its own “USS” (United Space Ship) designation, just like ships in the fictional Starfleet. Start the academy in grammar school and take it all the way through college. The science, engineering, and medical divisions would mesh very well with the STEMM paradigm. One could even bring in school “uniforms” consisting of a simple polo or t-shirt following the color of the division and having the appropriate insignia (science, engineering, etc.) embroidered on it.
A useful “non-space” focus would be a study of the workings of the United Nations, since 1) we do need to get our own affairs in order before we can effectively explore space, and 2) we need some kind of model for our future diplomatic encounters with other intelligent life (assuming it’s really out there). And, since interactions with some intelligent species will inevitably involve conflict, having a connection with things military – from a strictly *defense* perspective – might also be wise. Perhaps an cooperative educational partnership with (insert country name here)’s navy?
Who knows, if done properly this could be a shot in the arm for the public education system.
where do i sign up?i went to college in tacoma,washington for mechanical engineering,and im a mechanic at heart,if you ever erect one,i would love to attend it,pay to get in it,whatever it would take,i want to learn as much as i can,ive studied the ships lifts, how they work,and some of the propulsion systems that go to conduits directly to nacells,among other little tidbits,it is wonderful how it is so technical,but would need a massive crew of competent people to run such a beautiful machine like those in the movies and series,an academy would be an aswesome thing to see erected….i would definatly attend….
Where do I sign up. I can fill in both sides as a student and as a professor, just let me know when and where.