The Texas Lyceum leads the way to interplanetary species
By Rudy Metayer, Class of 2024

Conference information:

• Conference Program
• Space 101: PubCon Primer Session Recording
• Texas Lyceum Fellowship Paper: Making the Space Industry Accessible to Texas High School Students

Reflections:
These essays are the views of the authors alone and do not represent the positions of the Texas Lyceum.

The Texas Lyceum leads the way to interplanetary species
By Rudy Metayer, Class of 2024

“We want to be an interplanetary species.”

And with this declaration from a panelist, the Texas Lyceum Public Conference “Mission Control: Texas’ Leadership in Space, Technology and Innovation” for me came into full focus.

It was simply fascinating to hear various leaders from across Texas and the United States speak about their roles to impact this audacious goal. They offered thoughts on the following:

The economic development opportunities in previously low-income areas that help make sure all Texans can benefit from the prosperity this industry is creating.

The educational opportunities to teach the skillsets required to develop, design and build the necessary materials and vehicles.

The robust workforce opportunities for the next generation of students, to be a part of the space program in numerous ways, including in hands-on builds and in laboratories discoveries.

The national security needs to protect our country from foreign actors who aim to use this latest space race for nefarious purposes.

For me, it was another reminder of the amazing things that often operate in the background but have an impact on our day-to-day lives. Make no mistake, Texas is the leader in the U.S. space program, and this truly is transforming our state.

This transformation is perfectly illustrated in that, for the first time ever, there are students in the Rio Grande Valley who can now say they are rocket scientists, and they can dream of going into space without ever having to move away from the RGV.

The discussion continues on what people can do to help overcome the ideological differences that hinder our state’s ability to reach its potential. Conferences like this one; discussions like those on the panels and around the tables; people like those in the room. It’s the only way we can truly make an impact for posterity, for all Texans now and in the future.

The Lyceum is leading the way, and we as proud Texans are better for it.