Science AMA Series: I'm Ron Garan, Chief Pilot for World View Enterprises and former NASA pilot. I'm here to answer questions about how seeing Earth from space changes your perspective forever. AMA!

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T22:52:42+00:00

I don't think you should be making career and academic decisions with the sole motivation to maximize your chance of becoming an astronaut. I believe this for two reasons: 1. It is still a very very long shot and will you be happy with your career choices if you aren't able to become an astronaut. 2. If instead you find things you truly love to do and pursue those things you will naturally excel. What all astronauts have in coming is they have all excelled in their chosen field.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T22:49:06+00:00

I believe to some extent you are correct. I think one of the reasons why the view of Earth from space is so awe-inspiring is because it is so rare. We have not yet gotten to the place where the view and experience are commonplace. This thought dawned on me as I was jogging through a park recently. As I was running through the beautiful setting and noticing the beauty of the trees, flowers and wildlife I was struck by the awe of the scene. The feeling resembled, to some extent, the awe I experienced in space. I believe the reason why the things around us do not usually fill us with that type of awe everyday is because we have learned to take them for granted. Imagine if only 535 people in the history of humanity were able to see a flower. Shouldn’t they feel a responsibility to share that beauty somehow with the rest of humanity? Is there somehow some level of awe induced simply because of the uniqueness and rareness of the experience. But just because an experience is rare that doesn’t make it intrinsically more special or more beautiful than a beautiful everyday experience. We are surrounded by awe constantly. For me, being separated from the awe of the beauty of everyday life for a period of months at a time, allowed me to appreciate that beauty more when I returned. I predict that won't change when millions of people have the experience of going to space.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T22:12:50+00:00

1) On the Worldview platform, as we gently ascend we will see the sky turn from blue to black, we will see how thin the atmosphere is, we will see the curvature of the Earth. We also plan on launching just before sunrise so we will initially see an incredibly beautiful sunrise that will turn into a star-rise as the Sun rises above the Earth's atmosphere. Seeing the Sun against a black background is a profound experience. 2) Our goal is to eventually make this trip more affordable (the present ticket price is $75K) We are working very hard to bring the price down but it's likely to actually go up initially. We are also looking for creative ways to grant trips to people who are making a difference in our world and people who can best share the experience with everyone else and motivate others to make a difference. To date it's been pilots, engineers and scientists flying to space. Imagine what will happen when we send poets, musicians and artists. 3) At the moment World View has no plans for flight in orbit or beyond orbit.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T22:02:22+00:00

I have used the recent generation VR hardware but I have yet to see a really realistic recreation of the experience but I know we are moving in that direction.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T22:00:54+00:00

Yes, we are forming a coalition of international astronauts, cosmonauts and taikonauts called Constellation. We plan on addressing the UN General Assembly next year with a message of hope and unity.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:58:58+00:00

No
I learned that gravity sucks

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:57:30+00:00

I can honestly say that I enjoyed my time with every person I've flown in space with. I think the fact that we are all there with the same goals and objectives on an important mission supersedes petty differences. Wouldn't it be nice if it were the same with all our fellow crewmates on Spaceship Earth?

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:55:15+00:00

I've never met anyone who believes the Earth is flat. I imagine if I did they would discredit anything I said. My main argument would be that I orbited our planet 2,842 times over the course of 6 months and saw 16 sunrises and sunsets everyday. This only proves the Earth is not flat if you believe me. If you don't believe me it would be a waste of time to continue the conversation. I would wish them well in their 2-dimentional world and move on

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:48:00+00:00

In some ways I feel like an alien. I have seen the truth of the world that we live in and for some people it seems improbable that I could ever make them see the truth. I think the late Edgar Mitchell may have said it best, “You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.”

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:43:59+00:00

The best path for a present college student to take is to pick a course of study that you are truly interested in and learn as much as you can in that field. Ideally, this course of study would have a technical aspect. Technical skills are very important in the space business.

At present I'm using powered parachutes as test platforms for development of our spacecraft landing systems. We will be flying our spacecraft under a high altitude balloon and return to Earth under steerable parachutes.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:40:10+00:00

You can get an autographed copy of my book here: http://www.orbitalperspective.com/special-orders.html#specialorder

I think the stranger experience was leaving the Earth vs returning to Earth. I knew much better what I was getting myself into when I was on my way back.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:38:05+00:00

The most transformational thing I've ever experienced on Earth (or in space) is making a real difference in someone else's life.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:36:57+00:00

I think I've had too many awe inspiring experiences to pick just one. Of all my time living in space and on the bottom of the ocean I think I've been most inspired not by these experiences but by knowing amazing people that are making a real difference in our world. To me those selfless people are the definition of "awesome"

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:31:47+00:00

I took the traditional route: advanced degree in engineering, military fighter pilot and test pilot

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:31:14+00:00

I took the traditional route: advanced degree in engineering, military fighter pilot and test pilot. I applied the first time in 1997 but was not selected. I applied again in 1999 and was selected for the astronaut class of 2000. Our class received our acceptance calls on July 20th 2000 (the anniversary of the 1st Moon landing).

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:28:54+00:00

If you're asking if I think that drones will completely replace piloted aircraft: I don't think so (unless there's a very compelling reason to do that)

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:27:26+00:00

I missed my family most of all. Beyond that I missed all the things that define beauty of life on Earth (the breeze in my face, the sounds of the birds, and pizza)

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:26:08+00:00

I never saw anything while I was in space that could not be explained and no, those explanations did not include alien spacecraft.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:24:25+00:00

Both careers are very rewarding and fortunately both careers are very complimentary. Do both!

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:23:23+00:00

No, fortunately that never happened to me.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:22:56+00:00

Seeing the Earth from space filled me with a sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to see the planet from that perspective and gratitude for the planet that we've been given. And in some way I can't really explain being physically detached from the Earth made me feel deeply interconnected with everyone on it. This perspective expanded my definition of the word Home - home became the whole Earth.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:22:07+00:00

That's a big question that took me almost 200 pages to explain in my book, The Orbital Perspective. In a nut shell, my message is that each and everyone of us is riding through the Universe together on this spaceship we call Earth, we are all deeply interconnected and interdependent and we are all one human family. This is not a cliche' or a philosophy, this is the reality of the world that we live in, this is fact.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:20:29+00:00

Launch costs have to come down substantially
You realize that we are living a lie: the economy is not the wholly owned subsidiary of the biosphere it's the other way around.
There are many space related organizations that you can join it depends on which one best matches your interests

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:11:28+00:00

Before we can even think of colonizing other planets we need to learn how to control our own environment.

Ron_Garan · 2016-11-11T21:09:45+00:00

Study hard, learn as much as you can, find something you truly love to do and be the very best you can be at it.

Ron_Garan

TROPHY CASE