Elizabeth Varghese - "Stellar Singularity"

It’s like 1492 all over again, but this time with rockets. Yes, the age of commercial space exploration is upon us—so what does that mean? That’s the theme of “Stellar Singularity: Navigating the Space Economy” by bestselling author Elizebeth Varghese. She’s our guest on this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast.

“A Grand Tour of the issues, options, promises, and challenges! Elizebeth touches every side of the multifaceted, and daunting, notion of a spacefaring economy. A fascinating read!”
Dan Geraci, President, Voyager Space Services, Chairman, The Planetary Society.

A futurist and the bestselling author of “[Block]Chain Reaction: The Future of How We Live and Work”, Elizebeth invites us to view the dawn of the spacefaring economy with optimism. She outlines how every organization will need to understand, leverage, and operate in space, and how every company is becoming a space company.

In Stellar Singularity, Elizebeth discusses how space exploration improves life on Earth, and how our definition of life and sentience needs to expand, making the case for an “Interstellar Magna Carta” to act as the framework for collaboration across countries and companies. She articulates “Principles to Navigate Space as Global Commons” and outlines the four leadership qualities needed during the space age…and much more.

Praise for Stellar Singularity

“A Grand Tour of the issues, options, promises, and challenges! Elizebeth touches every side of the multifaceted, and daunting, notion of a spacefaring economy. A fascinating read!” Dan Geraci, President, Voyager Space Services, Chairman, The Planetary Society.

“A thoughtful, personal, well-researched, and timely piece of our human space exploration efforts… Read more about the space industry’s history, cultural connections, influential socioeconomic factors, key technological drivers, and how space exploration benefits all.., directly and indirectly, in from Elizebeth’s must-read latest work.” Dr. S. Anand Narayanan, Research Professor, Florida State University, Expert in Space and Medical Physiology, Global Health, Interdisciplinary STEAM Research and Education, NASA Fellow

“Elizebeth Varghese may not be the first space philosopher, but she certainly deserves the title. Stellar Singularity integrates the technological aspects of our expansion into space with imperatives for human behavior—particularly economic, diplomatic and ethical behavior. Knowledgeable people outside of the traditional space enterprise can and must contribute to this next phase of human development. Stellar Singularity is the work they should begin with to appreciate its challenges and opportunities.” Gordon Roesler, Ph.D., President, Robots in Space LLC, and former DARPA space robotics program manager

“This book is a must-read..it provides a great summary of historical and technological developments through to shifts in democratization, policy and value chain realization.” Steve Ramage, Chief Engagement Officer – Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Governing Board – Digital Earth Africa, Earth Observation Advisory Committee – UK Space Agency

Elizebeth Varghese is a futurist, people & technology strategist, senior executive, and bestselling author. She is a Board member and Co-Chair of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Committee at Columbia Business School, Women’s Circle. She is also on the Council of Advisors at the SETI Institute. Elizebeth was recognized as among the top experts and inspirational leaders of 2022 per The HR Gazette and she has also been recognized as among The Outstanding Asian Americans in Business in 2021. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

00:00 - Start
00:13 - Elizabeth Varghese
00:32 - Understand the Journey
03:16 - Does it make a difference?
04:46 - No market can exist without...
06:47 - Space touches lives everyday
08:01 - Awareness is increasing
09:07 - Public-private
11:09 - Government involvement
12:27 - Singularity and Spacefaring
14:53 - Interstellar Magna Carta
17:49 - Interstellar Companies
22:39 - Leadership
25:58 - How to get the book
26:33 - Look out 10-15 yrs in Space Commerce