The Future of Space Scout
Welcome back to Space Scout. We’ve missed you.
As a lot of folks may have noticed, we’ve been quiet for the last eight months. A lot has been going on behind the scenes, and there’s been a lot of changes in the works. When Space Scout began, there was no telling where we’d end up, how far we’d grow as an institution, and most importantly, the connections we’ve made. At the end of the day, we’ve reached so many of you, made such wonderful friends, and gotten amazing opportunities. We had the privilege of getting to tell you the story of NASA’s return to the Moon with Artemis, of Commercial Crew bringing back domestic human spaceflight, and of Starship’s test flights. We’ve had some fun and exciting stories and some tough conversations. So for that – thank you.
So what has Space Scout been up to this year? Well, we had a tough look at what we considered our values and what we wanted to do with this organization, and we wanted to find the way to best implement those. Truth be told, one of the more difficult questions that came up as a result of this process was “What makes Space Scout special?”
There are a couple answers to that, and I believe they’re intrinsically tied to our values. What I personally believe to be Space Scout’s biggest strength is the diversity in our team’s background and experiences. We’re a nationwide team of almost entirely outsiders to media and reporting, and one that looks quite different from the rest. In a field where everyone looks a little too similar, Space Scout’s over half female, majority LGBTQ, disabled-led, and majority 1st or 2nd generation immigrants. Space Scout is unwaveringly committed to these values of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. While we are far more than just our identities, we’re critically aware of how important remaining steadfast in them is today – a significant portion of the aerospace news cycle takes place in some of the places where the rights of our own team members – for example, in Florida and Texas – are actively regressing. Despite this, we believe there’s no better way to demonstrate our commitment to these values than to be a living example of them, and if it were not for what makes everyone on this team different, we would not have gotten to where we have and we would not be who we are. We’re here to tell you, no matter who you are, there’s a place for you in space.
That all being said, we’re pivoting Space Scout in a direction that I believe will not just allow us to meet these ideals better, but also allow the team to grow and develop far more. You’ll hear far more in just a second, but as for the too-long; didn’t-read: Space Scout is pivoting away from real-time coverage and news-beat type reporting to a much more long-term, investigative, and deep-dive style model. Our goal is to be on the quality over quantity side of the balance. While there’s a lot of outlets to keep you informed on the here and now, we want to be there to provide the much-necessary context, to tell you the stories that aren’t being told, and critically to do so in a manner accessible to anyone – regardless of prior knowledge.
We’re also changing up the team, significantly. As most of you know by now, I – Lavie Ohana, managing editor and co-founder of Space Scout, am stepping down from my role to pursue a role at ABL Space Systems’ creative team. I am excited to be on the other side of the fence, so to speak, but I also don’t want me leaving to bring Space Scout to a premature end.
So, over the last couple of months, I’ve come to the decision to hand over leadership of Space Scout to my best friend, Nik. They’re an excellent, award-winning writer and analyst that knows aerospace like the back of their hand, and while they’ve been a quiet member of the team until now, they’ve been an instrumental part of much of Space Scout’s successes nonetheless. Without further ado, I’ll allow them to introduce themselves, and to tell you what’s next in store for Space Scout.
Hi folks, my name is Nik A, and I’m very excited to be taking over operations of Space Scout from Lavie. This organization has been a huge part of my personal growth as a writer and member of the greater aerospace circle, and I am very grateful for the trust that Lavie has placed in me and her support throughout.
As we’ve seen in the past few years, the industry has entered a period of rapid growth and development, with nations preparing to go to the Moon, build new outposts in Low Earth Orbit, and ready new technologies to help humankind go to Mars. It is a truly staggering time to be alive, and able to cover these rapid developments. At Space Scout, in the face of all of this new information, we feel it is time for a shift – from a “finger on the trigger” organization to one that helps to analyze the sheer volume of information coming out of the industry as a whole. You may be asking, what might this look like? In short, our goal is to publish longer-form articles that will take apart individual issues and look closely at the status of the greater aerospace industry.
In the media sphere, there is often a lack of intersectionality and cross-analysis that can prove to be frustrating. Space is an intrinsically multifaceted industry that touches on numerous aspects of our lives, and the way we interface with it is an incredibly telling reflection of our society as a whole today. To discuss it without understanding this represents a fundamental misrepresentation of the way we interface with technology as a whole. This returns us to Space Scout’s mission statement, to be an institution that champions diversity and equity in an age where the very notion of DEI is controversial. We feel it is absolutely necessary to keep that in mind as we go forward.
Moving forward, our schedule will also be looking a little different – we are currently building a backlog of articles to publish starting August 31st, with the intention of eventually publishing two pieces per week as we move further down the line. Alongside this, we will have our launch team in place to cover notable missions and showcase their photography from spaceports across the country.
In addition to myself, there will be some new and old faces joining us for our new voyage into the unknown – Scarlet, Beverly, Dustin, Nick, Emily, are our new additions to the writing and photography team. I have the utmost confidence in them, and they represent a diverse and talented slice of the amazing creative figures out there. Joining them will be some familiar faces, David Diebold, Derek Newsome, Andrea Lloyd, Astrid Cordero, and An Tran – all of whom have been quintessential members of the Space Scout voyage in various roles since 2019. It is our hope, through this transition period, that you’ll stick with us and continue to support this institution, and that our new focus is one that opens eyes and sparks discussion. That is all we can ask for.
There comes a time when change is inevitable. We grow, we learn, and prosper as individuals in a world that is constantly evolving. What began as a spark, burns bright in flame, and moves to an ember. But that ember doesn’t have to represent decline, it represents the potential for rebirth. We can foster that ember into something new, a bright and powerful flame. The Space Scout voyage is far from over, rather, we are building something new – something that represents a fundamental shift in coverage and discussion. This is an exciting time to be looking to the stars, and it is our hope that Space Scout will help reveal the wonders of the universe to all. I cannot wait to bring you more of what we have in store and explore the wonders of this truly astounding field of study with all of you.
Your friend,
Nik
I hope you liked hearing from Nik – you’ll be hearing a lot more from them soon. Before I sign off for the last time, there’s a couple more things I want to tell you about and some points I’d like to reiterate. You may have noticed a new Space Scout logo has popped up in a few places – Dustin, who just joined our team, has designed an awesome new futuristic logo for Space Scout to provide a visual refresh alongside the rest of our changes.
I also want to extend an invitation to anyone else who may be interested in contributing to Space Scout – please don’t be afraid to reach out to us. You can email us at [email protected] or reach out to us on our Discord server, which you can join here. There’s a lot of exciting projects in work and a lot the team could use help with. Prior experience in aerospace media is not required – as I said before, we’re all about new perspectives.
Finally, I want to take a moment to look back and reflect on how far we’ve come with Space Scout for one last time. As someone who started from nothing, I wouldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that a project that just started as getting a couple of friends together to make a resource for space nerds would have quite arguably become an institution in aerospace. I am infinitely thankful to the team, to all of our friends who have supported us along the way, and to you, the reader.
I leave you with Gene Cernan’s last words on the Moon – words that ring in my head as I write my last words as the leader of the organization I’ve held dear to my heart for so long. Our challenges today set the stage for our future tomorrow, and I have full faith not just in our return as a team, but that one day Cernan’s hopes shall ring true as humanity returns to the stars. While I wish I could be there to tell that story myself, I am sure that someone like me, perhaps even you, will be a part of our team to share the dream of spaceflight with the world.
Signing off,
Lavie Ohana
—
“And I’ll read what that plaque says to you. The words are, ‘Here man completed his first exploration of the Moon, December 1972 A.D.’
This is our commemoration that will be here until someone like us, until some of you who are out there, who are the promise of the future, come back to read it again and to further the exploration and the meaning of Apollo.
As I take man’s last step from the surface, back home for some time to come, but we believe not too long into the future – I’d like to just say what I believe history will record… that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow.
And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus- Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return,
with peace and hope for all mankind.
Godspeed, the crew of Apollo 17.“
– Gene Cernan