Great Shining Hope
There was the constant media buzz, the high-profile guest list at the
inauguration of their building last July, the busloads of curious
visitors drawn by stories of high velocity space travel… The stuff of
science fiction had suddenly and unexpectedly exploded onto sleepy
Guanacaste.
When asked to explain the logic behind this unlikely marriage, Chang
talks of his hopes of protecting the local ecology and bringing wealth
to the region by steering away from heavy industry and developing an
economy of knowledge like that found un the high-tech hub of Silicon
Valley, in the United States. “We’re trying to change the chemistry of
the economics here and elevate the standards of living for
Guanacastecos”. For Chang, the link between education, empowerment and
opportunity is vital and obvious.
His star allows him to be a natural role model for the generation he is
trying to influence. “Too many kids today are discouraged very easily by
the way the world is presented to them,” he says.
“I’m trying to give them a positive outlook in that you can achieve what
you set out to achieve through study and dedication.” And
unsurprisingly, when Don Franklin speaks, Don Franklin is heard. When
tales of sitting on 500,000 gallons of burning rocket fuel and being
fired into the most hostile environment known to man are part of your
arsenal of stories, it’s pretty much guaranteed that nobody is going to
argue with your claim that “You can be a scientist and still be cool.”
The new facility located on the campus of the EARTH University on the
outskirts of Liberia is a draw for the public and organized groups are
allowed to visit at fixed times by prior appointment.
The lab here is supporting the technology developed at the flagship
facility at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, USA, but Chang hopes that
the work of both laboratories will eventually be equal in importance.
The research is primarily focused on plasma*, which has potential
applications ranging from hazardous waste disposal to interplanetary travel.
In the multi-billion dollar aerospace industry, space tourism has become
the latest commercial spin-off and Chang envisions being part of that
wave. He talks matter or factly about setting up permanent stations on
the moon, colonizing Mars and preserving earth as a national park of
humanity. The ideas are so big they are enough to make your head spin.
When asked what it is like to go to space and he speaks with a measured
wistfulness, “As soon as you get over the liftoff the first thing you
want to do is to go look out the window,” he recalls.
“The spectacle of the earth is inscribed in every flier’s mind forever.
When you just stare at it for a long time you get all kinds of
interesting feelings. Obviously the beauty of the planet, the fragility
of it… and its amazing that everybody that you know lives there. You
feel very small, but very big at the same time.”
Most of us going about our daily lives hardly ever look up, perhaps
because it is such a stark reminder of our insignificance in the face of
infinity. Floating from his privileged viewpoint, Chang has pondered
life’s big questions and explains his philosophy.
“The way nature tends to work is if something doesn’t work out it tends
to die away. We seem to be thriving, but the problem is we are becoming
so numerous that we’re beginning to weigh heavily on the resources of
the planet. That’s the reason why I think we are going to space. It’s
just like when you have a bacteria culture in Petri dish. This culture
will grow and become very large and prosperous before it withers and
dies. We need to change the way we do things, but at the same time we
need to look at the fact that we have all the right to grow. We don’t
want to be a decaying society. The universe is very large, but at the
same time we have to grow in a way that does not destroy the life
support systems that makes it possible.
A harmonious existence is what we need to see.”
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