David Kipping

And even better, it would cost less because a huge cost in these Space Huskies is making them really light.

So the mirrors are like these special honeycomb structures to make them super light so they're low cost to launch.

But if you have Starship, it can launch like 100 tons, I think it is.

You could literally just take these ground-based telescopes you already have and just shove them in there and, you know, obviously put some chassis on it.

But you could – it would be way, way cheaper to launch these things.

So, I mean, I'm very excited about the prospect of having heavy launch capabilities that Starship give us.

That plus investment in something like these kind of giant telescope designs, we could launch some truly gargantuan things into space and probe those atmospheres and see those aliens and what they're up to.

So, yeah, I would say the future can be bright because we have the means to do it if we have the will to do it.

Yes.

You kind of like the overview effect.

You heard that with astronauts when they go up to space and they see the Earth.

I think we should launch all our presidents into space.

Oh, that's a good idea.

Bring them back, but let them have that overview because I think that is... Launch it with Katy Perry.

Yeah, that doesn't even do it justice.

Yeah, I think what makes me sometimes sad as an astronomer is sometimes people say, what's the point of looking for life out there?

I care about the bread on the table economy and jobs and factories and stuff like that.

I care about the things that really directly affect my life.

But I think there has to be things that we do as humans

existential things like, are we alone in the universe?