Cue the X-Files music.
“When it comes to shaping the future, one of the greatest obstacles you have is your mind.”
These were the words of Steve Justice, the Head of the Aerospace Department of the ‘To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science’. Never heard of it? Well, that’s because the academy was launched this year, on the 11th of October, 2017.
The academy is a Public Benefit Corporation headed up by CEO Tom DeLonge. The corporation hopes to globally further science and engineering to the point where science fiction becomes established science fact. If the CEO’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he was a musician in a band named Blink 182.
The corporation has released a video that clarifies their vision and mission:
The group has recruited some interesting, previously top-secret, names.
The aforementioned Steve Justice is recently retired from Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs – better known as Skunk Works. Justice has 31 years of experience under his belt, developing the kind of aircraft that people may have mistaken for UFOs in the sky at some point or another.
The group touts other professionals that will assist in forging a path ahead for UFO-level science and technology expansion. Other members include:
- A former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Intelligence.
- A former senior intelligence officer for the CIA
- A former director of programs who investigated unidentified aerial threats
- A group of distinguished physicists
- A geneticist
- A molecular biologist
- And an award-winning storyteller
Transportation propulsion
The group hopes to engineer new propulsion technologies that will rival those in Star Wars. On their website, they say they intend to:
“Develop next-generation aerospace propulsion technologies, using a concept referred to as metric engineering, which uses advanced math modelling techniques, providing a technology base to the Aerospace Division for future products.”
They maintain that ‘beamed energy propulsion launch systems’ and ‘advanced electrogravitic propulsion’ technologies are not outside of modern day engineering’s reach.
Image: The academy’s concept for an international point-to-point transportation craft
Source: To the Stars Academy
Steve Justice, speaking on the group’s Facebook Live said of the academy:
“Today, there’s a generation of people that are not buying cars. They’re using on-demand, point-to-point, transportation within cities. Why have a car? Imagine if that was international. You could go anywhere on the face of the earth in a matter of minutes. So, now you’ve removed that parameter of distance and time that separates us from friends on the other side of the earth.”
These kinds of mind-bending technologies don’t exist yet, or, at least haven’t been made public. The only question that the cynical engineer might ask: Is this technology within our grasp? Justice seems to think so. He said:
“Fifteen years ago, you didn’t know that you needed a smartphone, and now you can’t live without it. The technology that we’re talking about is going to enable a future that is difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend today. We’re setting the stage.”
We could be seeing some of these technologies manifest very soon. Justice confirmed:
“The aerospace division is going to harvest technologies and understanding from the science division – it will try to demonstrate the technologies, build prototypes, and even production systems that can change life as we know it.”
And you could become a shareholder in the company today. You can make your investment in the company by visiting their website: https://dpo.tothestarsacademy.com/.
Technology is evolving at a rapid rate. Landing a rocket after launch was considered beyond human capability and Elon Musk’s engineers and associated experts are developing technologies that some might have considered science fiction years ago. This new academy prioritizes thinking outside of the box, of rethinking technology and of pushing the parameters that limit it. This is probably a good addition to the engineering industry; at the very least it is entertaining.
Works Cited
“To The Stars Academy.” To The Stars Academy, Oct. 2017, dpo.tothestarsacademy.com/.
“Tom DeLonge Launches To The Stars Academy to Explore ‘Outer Edges of Science.’”
Alternative Press, www.altpress.com/news/entry/tom_delonge_to_the_stars_academy
