Space United - Nonprofit Space Program

[JonhyBee]

Hello Kerbalites,

I have just stumbles upon this : http://spaceunited.org/ and I wonder... this might have already came up on this board if yes I am sorry.

If not, what are your toughs? Me I think this could be the start of something good (if its not a sham to collect money and dissapear I mean).

[astropapi1]

I read about them on imgur last night. They're doing stuff like purchasing satellite pics to help with humanitarian efforts, building new kinds of houses and "launching" weather balloons. Nothing like Copenhagen Suborbitals for sure, but they're a cool group that's going to get more people interested in space.

[Scotius]

It's a bit...unspecific. I'm a bit wary about this. If you want to support a real organisation that actually sends rockets into the air, you might want to take a look at Copenhagen Suborbitals. And those guys are already on this forum

[JonhyBee]

Yes I had already seen them on here, great work they do! I was just wondering about these. I have the same doubts... it seems vague like you said.

[troyd]

Howdy. Troy from SpaceUnited. Thought I would jump in here.

We have our doubts too but we're going to give it our best shot. Like a lot of startups, we have our challenges but we also have a real passion for the work we're doing. That sounds all cheesy but it's true.

We've got some similarities to what Copenhagen is doing but we're more focused on improving life with space technology. I don't want to take an official stance on what they are working on but personally I think it's great. I also think there are lots of aspects to space exploration, which means there are lots of opportunities.

The vagueness that you're referring to is our scope; it's big and long term but I'll answer any questions you have.

Also, full disclosure, I haven't played KSP yet but I'd label myself as a gamer and it's on my list for sure. After all, what could be cooler than running a virtual space agency?

[JonhyBee]

Wow! I did not think I would get to talk directly to the person in charge. I do greatly advise you to play KSP if you don't its a great game. I am very noob at it in many ways still, and it amazes me to see so many peoples of all ages learn the basics of space flight and navigation with a fun game and get so good at planning mission and trajectories. The essence of it is so complicated and alien, yet it will be required if ever we advance to the stage where you can actually say "I am a space pilot and travel the solar system with my own ship". If it ever gets to this, maybe kids who played a video game will already grasp the fundamentals and excel at them.

I guess my question for you would be what are your plans to get us there? Will giving you money really advance this cause?

[troyd]

I'm all for the concepts of KSP and gamification is an excellent way to create interest and learning.

How will SpaceUnited get us into space?

Our general plan is to create what are called "minimum viable products" and test them against the market. Our goal with these products is to create recurring revenue and provide new opportunities for space exploration to the general public. We're starting small, building on our successes, and doing our best to provide solutions to unmet human needs.

Take for example our SHIM-1 mission. Satellite images are already used on a daily basis to save lives but not everyone has access to them. By pooling organizations together and teaching nonprofits and NGO's how to make use of existing space technology, we close a gap. We're working with Digital Globe, the worlds largest satellite image provider, to test a pilot program. If this proves to be useful, we'll expand on the mission. If not, we'll learn from the process and adjust accordingly.

All of this creates demand and capital. Only difference with a nonprofit is that instead of that capital going into bonus and big salaries, the money is driven back into our mission.

I can give you other examples of the work that we're doing but the bottom line is that when people give to SpaceUnited, the money goes towards uniting people through space exploration that helps people.

[Scotius]

That's a very noble goal troyd. Such initiative is urgently needed to reignite broad interest in space. But, as you can see from our few posts, pretty web page with smiling people, boasts about being space agency and...not much more, will generate mostly suspicion at first. People interested in space exploration and related things tend to be intelligent enough to learn about dangers of being, shall i say - "happy-go-lucky clickers".

[troyd]

I totally get and appreciate the suspicion. We're a public organization, so it's both your job to ask tough questions and my job to respond to them. But we've been at this for one year and one day and I'm very pleased with our progress so far.

[JonhyBee]

Well thank you for the strait answer Troy, I like you PR style. One of my friends is working for an NGO based is Cameroun that works on model forests across Africa. I think there goal would align perfectly with your mission and so I will talk to him about you guys. I am not sure what exactly he is doing, but in my mind it can really profit from good satellites images.

I will also think about making a donation, if I do it will be something small has I am just an humble engineer but I approve of your goals and means and I admire your efforts, god speed.