I remember sitting home the tragic day that we lost Challenger. I was very young but it was something that had a visceral effect on me. For some reason though space stuck with me. I ended up watching NASA TV with our large satellite whenever there were launches or spacewalks.

Unfortunately at the time NASA TV was quite bland and for a kid almost impossible to understand the technical talk. Over the years this has improved but even now at times it can be way over my head, and I am far from a kid.

Over the last year though several things have started to come together that I think could push us to the Moon, Mars and beyond. This year we have seen SpaceX land rockets on barges after returning from launch. We have seen well produced videos from NASA, SpaceX, Blue Origin and others. Webcasts have made these accessible to everyone to watch.

Something else happened this year that was more organic though, and I think is the key to getting kids interested in space and learning STEM to become the future of our space programs. It was a convergence of several things that all happened at just the right time.

Several years back a small independent game called Kerbal Space Program came out. It is best described as Lego for space. The second piece of our space trifecta is SpaceX and its Falcon 9 launches and recoveries. These were watched by thousands of people and put space flight back in the headlines. The final piece is where we possibly go off the rails a bit.

Twitch which is an online streaming platform for video games. One of the most important parts is the channels where broadcasters stream there games is the community. People truly become friends, have conversations, and in the case of the KSP steams they can learn something.

I over a year ago discovered two streamers on Twitch that play Kerbal Space Program. EJ_SA and DasValdez. While they each have their own style they both bring a huge passion for space to an audience participation. They interact answering questions, explaining concepts, teaching math and other items needed to get us to space, both in the game but also real world.

So this year all of these came together. Though there have been several streams where this has occurred I will mention just two. The first would be the first successful landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9. I was watching the EJ_SA stream on Twitch and he was simulcasting the webcast of the launch. The important distinction of watching his stream rather then the official webcast was the community. I was watching along hundreds of other users. EJ_SA on stream was the embodiment of what I think was all of our emotions. It was a moment when we all came together and watched history together. I can only imagine what the world felt like when Neil Armstrong took that first step on the moon live to the world.

The second moment was a recent launch from Kennedy Space Center. DasValdez was on site and streaming live through another app and EJ_SA was showing his feed and the webcast in dual video. They both were interacting, explaining everything, and getting the community excited. Again watching a launch with hundreds of unknown friends all with a interest in space. It was a unique and interesting experience.

Where does that bring us for the upcoming year and further? These puzzle pieces need to stay connected and even better the relationship. The space companies and government agencies need to reach out to people that stream on Twitch or YouTube and leverage the interest they already bring. Come on their streams, give them tours, get them to launches. Twitch needs to provide new tools such as the future IRL broadcast ability to streamers that will cover events such as launches or other STEM items live in the world.

To EJ_SA, DasValdez and other streamers. Keep doing what you do. Get kids interested in space. Show them what it could mean in their future. Teach them. Make it fun. Go to as many events as possible steaming things that will get people interested. Start a weekly Space Show where you talk about space news, do interviews, and possibly other things.

There is an opportunity in 2017 to take these pieces and get kids to say “I want to go to space” again. You all can make it accessible, entertaining, educational, and most importantly FUN!

I am not connected to any of the parties of this essay and they are my own personal opinions.