Скачать или смотреть Tim Pickens - Igniting the Fire

When he said, "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited," Plutarch could not have imagined that almost 2000 years later a man named Tim Pickens would be igniting the fires in so many young minds by actually lighting things on fire.

In this video, Tim shares his idea of rocket-barnstorming as a way to inspire the next generation of engineers. Much like original barnstorming brought aviation to the masses by fueling people's imaginations in exciting ways, Tim posits rocket-barnstorming could do the same thing for space travel. Tim goes on to describe how this would be a much better tool for outreach than waiting for NASA rocket launches that are infrequent, unpredictable, and hard to see in person.

Tim's desire to inspire is further seen when he describes his scaled down suitcase rocket demonstrations and how they serve to engage young people in deeply personal ways.

Tim Pickens is an award-winning rocket pioneer who joined Moon Express in January 2013 as Chief Propulsion Engineer, responsible for overall propulsion architectures used in Earth departure stages, lunar breaking stages and lander propulsion systems.

Prior to joining Moon Express, Tim was chief propulsion engineer and commercial space advisor at Dynetics, as well as the team leader of the Rocket City Space Pioneers (RSCP), a leading Google Lunar X PRIZE contender that enjoyed the backing of many Huntsville companies and the state of Alabama. RCSP was acquired by Moon Express in December 2012 through a Teaming Agreement with Dynetics, which included a commitment to carry a "Spirit of Alabama" insignia to the surface of the Moon in honor of the incalculable contribution of Huntsville and the State of Alabama to the U.S. space program.

Among Tims' responsibilities at Moon Express are leading its Huntsville office, located near the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Tim splits his time between the Moon Express Huntsville office and its corporate headquarters at the NASA Ames Research Park in Silicon Valley.

Music credit: Passenger - Feather on the Clyde (Stefan Biniak Private Edit)