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Space Pioneer Award Goes To Local Couple's Son

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 12, 2008

SUN CITY CENTER - The son of retired Lt. Col. Peter W. and Geraldine "Jerri" Garretson of Sun City Center and the grandson of Marion Kundiger of Kings Point was recently presented the 2008 Space Pioneer Award for Space Development.

The award was presented by the National Space Society at the 27th International Space Development Conference, which was May 29-June 1 in Washington to Lt. Col. Peter A. Garretson, Col. Mike Hornitschek and Col. M.V. "Coyote" Smith, all of the Air Force, and Marine Corps Lt. Col. Paul C. Damphousse.

Garretson is the chief of the Air Force Future Science and Technology Exploration Branch, Future Concepts and Transformation Division. He and the other three officers, known collectively as "the Caballeros," have been studying space-based solar power with former National Security Space Office director Gen. James Armor. The office, which sponsored the study, is seeking a renewable energy source that does not generate carbon emissions or hazardous waste.

"The idea of space solar power has been proposed in the past, but the technology and cost were prohibitive in the 1970s and later," said Jerri Garretson. "Now, with the skyrocketing cost of fuel and the progress in space technology, our son felt it should be brought to the forefront and has worked to get it there. ... We are very proud of him ... it is fascinating."

Solar collectors above the atmosphere, where sunlight is unfiltered, would direct the sun's energy to large mesh apparatuses connecting to an electrical grid. Annually, accessible solar power could equal the potential power generation from known oil reserves worldwide, according to the Oct. 10, 2007, report, "Space-Based Solar Power as an Opportunity for Strategic Security." The summary of the report to the National Security Space Office can be viewed at www.nss.org/settlement/ssp/library/nsso.htm.

"Our son has been the 'mover and shaker' ...with the Caballeros," Jerri Garretson said. "He literally sees this as a mission to save the Earth ... to save humanity. ... That's a huge mission to take on, but he is serious about it, and it's been on his mind since he was very young."

"I always found that Peter was extremely inquisitive, had some great insights, and let his imagination run free," said his father. "I'm extremely proud that he is working to try to solve some of the issues that face this nation concerning energy and hunger."

Garretson's fascination with science was encouraged by his family. Kundiger, Garretson's maternal grandmother, is a retired microbiologist who taught biology at Kansas State University. His grandfather, the late Donald G. Kundiger, taught organic chemistry at the same school.
Jerri Garretson read him nonfiction books on any topic that interested him - black holes, astronomy, physics and biology - from preschool through middle school. He grew up watching "Star Trek," "Star Wars" and "Battlestar Gallactica."

"It was a joy raising a son with a questing, brilliant mind," she said. "When he was only 41/2 we took him to see the spillway of a dam, and he casually remarked, 'It's just a big valve.' I was amazed that a boy that young would immediately make that kind of association." At age 10, he created a miniature power plant that included everything from hydroelectric to solar power generation.

"It's never easy to figure out what a child will do when he grows up," she said. "Peter had such diverse interests that we didn't make any predictions."

Although he grew up in a military home - his father served 24 years as a Judge Advocate General's Corps officer (an attorney for the Army) - it was not until Garretson's senior year in high school that he decided he wanted to go to the Air Force Academy.

Garretson's presentation that earned the Space Pioneer Award was called "Space: A Billion-Year Plan for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: How space can serve humanity in the future."

In it he explained his sense of urgency for harnessing solar power, for developing protection for the Earth from meteors, asteroids and comets, and for colonizing space to ensure the continued existence of humankind as the Earth and sun age.

He said "we are destined to become a space-faring civilization" but could sabotage that destiny by killing ourselves socially or technologically, by killing our host, Earth, by poisoning the biosphere in which we live, or by waiting until our resources are depleted.

"We've been gifted with this amazing resource of cheap fossil fuels that will not be there forever," he said. "If we do not use that store of fossil fuels to jump-start us to the next level, I don't think we're going to get where we want to go."

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, call (813) 657-4531 or e-mail neighbors@tampabay.rr.com.

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