The Georgetown University Space Initiative (GUSI) hosted 62-year-old engineer and retired NASA astronaut Dan Tani to discuss his career as an astronaut and the commercialization of the aerospace industry on Oct. 16.
Tani gained recognition for being on the 12th shuttle flight to the International Space Station in 2001. Tani discussed during the event his career journey, life on the International Space Station and the growing commercialization of space.
GUSI, founded by Georgetown University students in 2019, aims to create a community of students interested in space exploration and innovation. The group also advocates for Georgetown University to adopt a more space-oriented curriculum, which the club does through speaking engagements and hands-on innovation projects like the one with Tani.
“Hosting speakers such as Dan Tani and learning from their experiences is a crucial part of how we work towards our mission,” Andres Permuy (CAS ‘24), the Co-President of GUSI, wrote to The Hoya. “With speakers in space policy, law, engineering, exploration, research, business, and investing, our members become knowledgeable about each facet of the space industry and go on to apply this deeper understanding to their own interests.”
Tani spoke about how his interest in engineering and space started when he was playing with model rockets as a child. Tani said that he became fascinated with the engineering of the rockets and wondered what life would be like from the rocket’s point of view, kickstarting his interest in aerospace engineering. Tani holds a bachelor and master of science in mechanical engineering.
“There was a moment where you couldn’t see it. Where is it? And then I was thinking, I wonder if it could see me? I wonder what the view would be like, from up there, down here, and I wonder if it could see my school or friend’s house,” Tani said at the event, referring to the model rockets.
“I really draw my desire to, my thoughts about what’s it like over there, the exploration aspect of my life that now leads to travel and eventually led to going to space, to these model rockets. It really pulled me in, and it really started my career down that path,” Tani added.
Tani began his career as a Design Engineer in the Space and Communications group at Hughes Aircraft Corporation before joining NASA in 1996 as an astronaut. Tani completed three spaceflight missions, including one in 2007-2008, when he was stationed on the International Space Station (ISS) for 120 days.
On the ISS, Tani conducted research and experiments on how blood vessels supply the brain in microgravity and improved efficiency in how astronauts use station hardware. Tani has since transitioned to the business side of the aerospace industry, currently serving as the Director of Business Development and Human Exploration Operations for aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman.
Tani said that living on the ISS presented a new set of challenges that changed his perspective on life.
“Living on the space station is its own experiment, and things that we never expected, like vision shift, it’s really interesting,” Tani said.
Tani became fascinated while on the ISS with the unique view of Earth from 250 miles above and said he was obsessed with capturing Earth’s beauty and how human life manifests itself from above. Tani said that he would spend hours on board taking pictures of cities down below and Earth’s natural resources.
“I just was, continuously, for four months, blown away by how beautiful our planet is,” Tani said. “I really came back as a real proud citizen of the planet.”
“I liked to take a lot of pictures, so I would look at my 300 pictures that day and sort through them, oh there’s the Eiffel Tower, send them to friends,” Tani added.
Tani said that while he was appreciative of the Earth, returning home into the atmosphere and to a planet with gravity was jarring.
“I got so used to stuff floating around. The imagery of what things should do did change,” Tani said. “Stuff should float.”
Tani went on to discuss how the aerospace industry is becoming increasingly commercialized and privatized, commenting on the rise of SpaceX and other space-oriented private Silicon Valley companies. Tani said that companies like SpaceX and Planet, a satellite photography company, have opened the door for a limitless breadth of specialized opportunities in the aerospace industry.
“Companies can decide to fly into space, do things in space, invest their own money in space with no government interaction except that they have to comply with some government rules and regulations, and benefit from the industry,” Tani said.
Tani added he does not believe companies and individuals going to space will become the norm, and companies involved in space tourism like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic will find their demand drying up.
“They thought, ‘oh there are tons of millionaires who want to fly to space.’ You know what? I’m not sure. There may be a couple, but that’s hard to build a business on,” Tani said. “It’s my opinion that the future market will be dominated by manufacturing and research, and very little tourism.”
In the future, Tani said that commercialization will play a big role in helping to finance and develop NASA’s future missions, including the Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon and eventually missions to Mars.
“Commercialization is going to be cheaper for NASA, and then I can take that big bit of money and focus on Artemis, which is going to the moon, which is a stepping stone to Mars,” Tani said.
Permuy said that he was grateful for the lessons and stories Tani expressed in his talk.
“Tani’s visit and presentation to GUSI embodied the interdisciplinary approach to the space industry that we strive to provide our students and we are grateful that he took the time to visit Georgetown,” Permuy wrote.
