COLORADO SPRINGS — Aside from the usual closing festivities, one final-day highlight of the 39th Space Symposium was a heated debate of sci-fi fandoms.
Moderated by SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Jeff Foust, the April 11 debate saw Team Star Trek, represented by Redwire Chief Growth Officer Mike Gold and NASA Chief Technologist A.C. Charania, go head-to-head with Team Star Wars, consisting of Jessica Noble, general counsel at iSpace Technologies U.S. and Camille Bergin, better known as The Galactic Gal.
In a contentious decision, former NASA administrator and debate judge Jim Bridenstine awarded the victory to Team Star Wars, despite the audience demonstrating an audible preference for Team Star Trek (well, except for that Leonard Nimoy vs Harrison Ford applause poll).
SpaceNews readers had the chance to weigh in on social media. In a recent poll on X, 58.6% of voters favored Team Star Trek’s, mirroring the crowd at Space Symposium.
Who won the Star Trek vs Star Wars debate?— SpaceNews (@SpaceNews_Inc) April 12, 2024
Do you agree with the verdict? You can watch the video and follow a full transcript below.
Complete Transcript
Jeff Foust: So let’s introduce the two teams here. So we have over here, on Team Star Trek, Mike Gold. He is the chief growth officer at Redwire, although for the next 45 minutes he’s the chief Starfleet officer of Redwire. I think most people in the industry know that he is one of the biggest Star Trek fans around the industry. His Star Trek fandom is equal almost to his fandom for the Red Sox. One causes more agony than the other though, I think.Mike Gold: Star Trek has just as much chance of winning the World Series as the Red Sox this year.
Jeff Foust: And then joining Mike is A.C. Charania. He is the chief technologist at NASA. He’s been in various roles in industry in the past. It is not true,though, that you took the oath of office for NASA on the Starfleet technical manual.
A.C. Charania: That is not correct.
Jeff Foust: I heard a rumor about that, but that was apparently not true. So we have Camille Berg representing Team Star Wars. She is better known as the Galactic Gal. She is an engineer who has worked in a number of companies. She is now a STEM advocate and educator. And joining Camille is Jessica Noble. Jessica is chief counsel at ispace technologies U.S. Their company is developing spacecraft to land on the moon. Of course, that’s no moon..
Jessica Noble: …It’s a space station.
Jeff Foust: And serving as judge is someone who needs no introduction, but is getting one anyway. It’s Jim Bridenstine. Former NASA administrator and, of course, I think as many people know, a big fan of Spaceballs. But this is Star Trek versus Star Wars, so you can’t pick Spaceballs. That’s completely out.
Jim Bridenstine: Everybody loves Spaceballs.
A.C. Charania: Just let you know, when I joined NASA we had a Spaceballs movie night.
Jessica Noble: Way to butter the judge up
Mike Gold: When we were at NASA, every night was Spaceballs.
Jim Bridenstine: One point for Star Trek.
Camille Bergin: You know Spaceballs wouldn’t exist without Star Wars.
Jim Bridenstine: One point to Star Wars.
Jeff Foust: All right. Okay, so with the points now even, here’s how it’s gonna work. This is going to be sort of like a typical debate. Remember that back in high school. Each side is going to give opening statements, then each side will provide a rebuttal. And then Judge Bridenstine will question both sides. At the end of that, each side will give a brief closing statement, and then the judge will render his decision. So with that, Mike, Team Star Trek, you’ve got your five minutes. And I’m going to keep time because I’ve heard people have been trying to play fast and loose on that. That’s not going to happen. So, Mike, your five minutes starts now.
Jim Bridenstine: Wait, hold on, before we get started, as a judge, I’ve got to know is the time like standard time on Earth or standard time on Alderaan? Because a couple minutes here is very different than a couple of minutes there.
Jeff Foust: We’re not including any relativistic effects for this. So we’re going to use standard Earth time for this, at least the standard Earth time that my iPhone keeps, hopefully, pretty close.
Jessica Noble: Also, those Alderaan references are a little too soon. Some of us are still hurting.
Jeff Foust: All right, ready, Mike?
Mike Gold: I am ready to go. I’ve been ready for 50 years to do this. I’ve been prepared. There it is.
Jim Bridenstine: All right, stop. Point to Star Wars because you guys are cheating with visual aids, which nobody told the Star Wars team about.
A.C. Charania: We just have more advanced technology, that’s all.
Camille Bergin: You just really need extra things to help your point.
Mike Gold: No, we have actual evidence to support our point.
Jim Bridenstine: We will not allow these proceedings to be rigged, which is what you are doing at this moment. Team Star Wars, two points.
Mike Gold: I have to counter in the words of Captain Kirk, “I don’t like to lose.”
A.C. Charania: We never believe in a no-win scenario.
Jim Bridenstine: You’re down, so…
Mike Gold: But not out, as always, with Star Trek. And I’ve been a fan for quite a while, you know. I’m not new to this. My parents put me in a red shirt, so that tells you all you need to know about my childhood. Here at Redwire, we’ve done amazing things in terms of rolling out solar arrays powering the International Space Station. We conducted humanity’s first planetary defense missions to hit an asteroid with the same arrays and a guidance system, took incredible imagery, when we were back at NASA, the camera was the mission, the Redwire cameras, amazing pictures of the moon on the journey of Artemis 1.
But all of these operations began with a dream. The dream is what comes first and is the fuel for all of our ambitions and everything that we’ve created in the space world. And for myself, and I think so many others in this audience and the gentleman sitting next to me, our dream is Star Trek.
At a time in the Cold War when we didn’t even know if there was going to be a future, where we all lived in fear the end of the world would be a nuclear disaster, Star Trek not only said that there’s going to be a future, but that the future will be glorious. That we will find a way to heal the sick, to feed the poor; we will find a way to come together in a federation that celebrates diversity and differences. And Star Trek drove that optimism at a time when it was so needed. And I believe that now we need Star Trek more than ever.
And a great example of that was even [at] a time we were in the Cold War with Russians, in the first season of Star Trek, there was no Russian on Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry was criticized; next thing you know, we got Chekov. So it’s a vision of a better future that I’ve gotten to live. So when I was with Bigelow Aerospace, we launched inflatable spacecraft using converted Russian nuclear missiles, literally swords into plowshares. We were reducing the world’s nuclear arsenal, one rocket at a time. And while in Star Trek, the launch took place from Montana — I said we launched the converted nuclear missile — but I was at least from Montana, so art was imitating life there. And again, while we’re in a very difficult time, war and strife, Star Trek says that we’ll have a better future, and I believe that we can come together as humanity again. This is just an example of that launch taking place. These, again, were weapons of war that we feared as children and then turned into peaceful tools for commerce, exploration and development.
And that’s how Star Trek influences reality. It resulted in inflatable spacecraft that laid the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, the BEAM, which is still on the International Space Station today. I made good friends with the Russians. And when my son was born, the Russians photoshopped the picture that I had sent them and they sent me this [an image of a newborn in a cosmonaut suit] I then had to explain to the Russians that, you know, this is beautiful. Thank you. I sent it to my friends at Johnson Space Center. They said, ‘how come the Russians have baby spacesuits? What kind of animals are they that they’re putting children in space suits?’
As opposed to Star Wars, Star Trek has inspired so many things in reality, the Artemis Accords comes from the vision of Star Trek. The idea that we can all come together, that space will unify us as a people, as humanity, that we’ll be able to get by our petty differences or bigotries to build something bigger, something more beautiful. Additionally, the Artemis Accords came from the Khitomer Accords in Star Trek, and inspired it. Also the Space Shuttle Enterprise came from Star Trek.
Star Trek has been such an important part of NASA. The first minority astronauts were recruited by Nichelle Nichols, who was at a Star Trek convention and said, ‘Why does the astronaut corps not look like me?’ to NASA people who were there. The NASA folks said, ‘you think you can get qualified candidates, go out and do it,’ and she did do that. So again, Star Trek: The Next Generation has inspired NASA to be better, to do better because we want a future that our children can be proud of living in. That’s peace, because we want ultimately more Star Trek and less Star Wars.
Jeff Foust: Right, Team Star Wars, you’re up for five minutes.
Jessica Noble: Alright. There was a lot of talk about the wars aspect of Star Wars and while I can certainly appreciate the points regarding the peaceful outlook, or utopian vision of Star Trek, what we see in Star Wars is the human experience. What we see in Star Wars is a story that meets us where we are. And it shows us that no matter what the circumstances are that we find ourselves in, that there is always an option for better.
We look at the original movies and the characters of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, R2D2, C-3PO, individuals from across many different sectors of life, who don’t have anything in common — well, except for Luke and Leia, but we’ll figure that out later — but who find each other, who find a common cause together and who decide that they are not going to accept the situation that they find themselves in. It’s being subjected to a tyrannical regime that they will bind together along with others who are willing to fight for the right thing, and that they are going to prevail over evil.
This found family concept is found throughout Star Wars. We see it first in the originals, in the prequels. We see how that found family can come together. We see what happens when that found family is destroyed. And then we see in the end, in the sequels, how it can come back together. And we see this in the animated series.
I know a lot of folks don’t look out into the rest of the Star Wars content. But if you take a look at the Clone Wars, I submit that this is content that is similar in depth and scope to Band of Brothers in showing the relationships and the bonds that those who work together and suffer through conflict together forge in those times.
In Star Wars Rebels, we see that sound family concept again, of those that who have been left adrift and who find themselves in difficult circumstances and who lead the way for our heroes of the original Star Wars. Who laid the foundation and the groundwork for them to be able to take up that baton and continue the fight for what is right. So while we don’t have the utopian future, in Star Wars, we have the notion that we can persevere and that good will persevere and that the Force will be with us. Always. That’s pretty good.
Jeff Foust: Another minute and a half if you really want it.
Camille Bergin: We don’t need it all.
Mike Gold: I’ll take it.
Jeff Foust: All right, tough act to follow there, A.C. You’ve got a five-minute rebuttal.
A.C. Charania: All right. Here’s my rebuttal on some of those points. It is about a family, you’re correct… It’s about the Skywalker family. All those shows, all those movies, many of those movies are about the Skywalker family. Not your family, not my family, not his family. Star Trek is about the human family, all of us, you know. So yes, there are differences in their families and our families. One point. The other point about conflict, fighting an empire in terms of a rebellion. That’s what you’re all about. We are about the more difficult fight internally. If you recall Captain Kirk, in a particular Classic Series episode: we’re humans; we come from a line of barbarians; we can make a decision today; we will not kill today. And that’s the tougher challenge: the internal challenge, to be better, to be bolder. And to make a better future. Fighting rebellion that’s out there in your face — Yes, that’s a tough challenge. But the internal challenge to make yourself a better human, to evolve yourself into the future; that’s an even tougher challenge. That’s what Star Trek is about.
Jeff Foust: All right, Camille. Five minutes starting now.
Camille Bergin: Five minutes. Well, I cannot top what Jessica said. But there is so much else to Star Wars, and we might use the full five minutes for this one. First of all, I think it’s really important that Star Wars is cool. Like, the technology. We’re all engineers – sorry, we’re not all engineers. Some of us are lawyers, some of us are content creators. But we’re all here in the aerospace industry, right? We’re all here for technology, whatever format you engage with that in, and I think that Star Wars has the coolest technology. Lightsabers. Where are the kids with the lightsabers? They were around here somewhere. They were just here. Yeah. See, they’re not walking around with whatever Star Trek has over there. Oh, yeah, we got the lightsaber right there. See? Okay. Even the audience agrees.
Mike Gold: Phaser vs lightsaber is a fast fight.
Camille Bergin: And podracers, and even the Death Star is pretty cool, okay. It’s pretty cool. We even have a moon that looks like one. I think that that is the universe telling us that Star Wars is better. And the Force is always with us. And I think that goes back to the human experience. Whatever spirituality, whatever you believe in. It’s all connected by the Force. We’re all connected however that may be because we’re all humans. And I think that that is really beautiful.
Jeff Foust: All right. No one used all their five minutes. Remarkable.
Camille Bergin: Mike did because he had an unfair PowerPoint.
Jeff Foust: Okay. Both sides have now presented their arguments. And now we hear from Judge Bridenstine. He’s going to ask questions of both sides. And after that, we’ll do some closing remarks. Judge Bridenstine.
Jim Bridenstine: All right to start, I heard a lot from this team about good overcoming evil, about good prospering and moving forward. In Star Trek, are there elements where it is good defeating evil and can you share some of those, either A.C. or Mike?
Mike Gold: I think fundamentally, every episode of Star Trek is about good defeating evil, not only in terms of beating your enemies, but bringing them together with you. So for example, in Star Trek, it wasn’t only a matter of defeating the Klingons but defeating negative beliefs, of defeating poverty, of defeating bigotry and convincing the other side that your way is the correct way. There’s an episode in Deep Space Nine I often talk about where there’s a Ferengi and he’s giving another alien some root beer and he says,’you have to try it.’ And the alien said, ‘Oh, this is so sweet, and sugary and cloying it’s terrible,’ but he’s like, ‘it’s just like the Federation.’ If you drink enough of it, it’s just like the Federation, you begin to like it. The United Federation of Planets is an analogue to the United States of America. It is a diverse polyglot of different people, different ideas that come together for the shared values of good; freedom; of liberty. That’s how Star Trek conquers. That’s in every episode of Star Trek, and how they come out. And let’s talk about technology for a second. Star Trek has inspired technology…
Jim Bridenstine: That was not the question. So okay, but an example of a time in Star Trek when it was necessary to kill Klingons. Did that ever happen?
Mike Gold: It has been necessary to kill.
Jim Bridenstine: So would you argue that Star Trek is maybe more based on realism than this utopian society than you’re leading on?
Mike Gold: Star Trek is not about utopia. It’s about striving for utopia.
Jim Bridenstine: By killing Klingons.
Mike Gold: You served. Sometimes force is necessary, but like it’s an unfortunate fact that even in Star Trek while we explore, we have to be able to defend…
Jim Bridenstine: I want it to be clear. It’s very important to me that you recognize that as a fact.
Mike Gold: Yes. Part of Star Trek’s mission is to create friendships, create diplomacy where we can but defend when we have to, but only as a last resort. But when we were pushed, there is no one tougher than Starfleet to defend you and the values of the United Federation of Planets and before us, the United States of America.
Jim Bridenstine: A.C., do you have anything to add to this?
A.C. Charania: Yeah, I think it goes once again to the point of [how] we’re striving to be better. We do encounter in this universe, different beings and creatures, some of which we have to negotiate with, communicate with. Some we have to be tough with. It’s a very tough universe. Star Trek makes that point. It is not an easy universe to go out there and explore, and encounter these beings. That’s why Captain Kirk had to be so bold and, in some sense, very, very confident of the enterprise’s abilities because you don’t know what’s out there. But you have to negotiate from strength and peace and logic. I would hearken to the precepts, the approaches of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, one of our top negotiators within the United Federation of Planets, and the way he would negotiate with Romulans, Klingons and sometimes even the Borg.
Jim Bridenstine: So, thank you for those responses. Mike, your time is done. Okay. So, on this side. It is absolutely true that there’s a lot more realism in Star Wars. There’s more things blowing up. Entire planets get destroyed and billions of people get killed. And yet, Star Wars is also striving for a better end state where everybody can live peacefully. Can you guys share some of those types of examples there?
Jessica Noble: Sure, and I’ll go back to you know, maybe some of the history and lore from the timeline of Star Wars. Before the events that we see in A New Hope, there had been [millennia] of a peaceful Republic that was guided by an elected Senate and that had Jedi as the protectors of peace. This had existed for thousands of years prior to the rise of Palpatine, Darth Sidious and the machinations that he engaged in and the Clone Wars to secure power. So there had always been an idea of what a free and representative democracy could look like within the galaxy that was dependent upon interplanetary relations, that was represented by a diverse body of different species in the Galactic Senate. And that supported free trade and economic prosperity. And so there was always this memory in the minds of those that then had to continue that fight on, in the original Star Wars series, of what could be and what they could return to. And you see, they take these steps after the destruction of the second Death Star to set up a new Republic. And I think it’s also something that we should take into account here as Americans that, you know, freedom is…a tree that needs to be watered, lest there are those who come and uproot it. And that is, I think, one of the lessons that we see in Star Wars.
Camille Bergin: And how did they do that? They do that through love and through family and community. As you said at the beginning, it’s the ultimate love story. It’s an opera. It’s a space opera, for crying out loud, like, that’s just really cool. And I think that it just brings people together and everyone is just like ‘yes, if we love each other, and we have family — and they might be distant, they might be across planets, they might be different species they might be robots, it could be anything — but they’re going back to that Republic that they want to get back to.
Jessica Noble: Robots are people. R2-D2, C-3PO, BB-8, also Chopper.
Jim Bridenstine: Okay, all right. So let’s, let’s take a second. I know Mike was interested in the technology here. I need your side to explain to me. Why is the Starship Enterprise superior to the Millennium Falcon?
Mike Gold: Star Wars is a fantasy. It’s fun.
Jim Bridenstine: Again, you’re not answering the question.
Mike Gold: Your honor, I’m getting to the answer, I’m getting the question. It’s a fantasy, but it’s not based in fact. The Starship Enterprise, like Star Trek itself, is about us. It’s aspirational. It’s about what we can achieve in reality. So medical devices…
Jim Bridenstine: So I’ll repeat the question, how is the Starship Enterprise superior to the Millennium Falcon?
A.C. Charania: Here’s one way for me. For me, Star Trek was always about the team, you know, on the bridge, on the ship. Star Wars is very much about the individual. Han and Chewbacca, a rebel and a rogue and his pet dog, basically.
Jessica Noble: Sir, sir, those are fighting words.
A.C. Charania: But for me, Star Trek was about the diversity of people on the bridge; the team and engineering. You know, a lot of us are engineers. We remember Scotty, we remember Jordi LaForge. That inspired us to be engineers, because on that ship … there’s no engineer on the Millenium Falcon. It was Chewbacca, who knew what that was? But these archetypes and prototypes of engineering leaders who were respected officers in the ship — that was inspirational to us, as we grew up and wanted to see reflections of our own technical interests on screen.
Mike Gold: And the Enterprise is superior because it’s something that we can achieve. It’s something that we can do. These are all technologies that we want to go forward with. Warp drive, with phasers and medical equipment that you see in hospitals today, inspired by Star Trek. The flip phone inspired by Star Trek. So these are all things that are influencing us today versus fantasy and Star Trek.,
Jim Bridenstine: Okay, so I’m gonna ask the Star Wars team: How was the Millennium Falcon superior to the Starship Enterprise?
Camille Bergin: Well, first of all I do want to say there might be somebody out there who looks like Chewbacca and needs to see that representation.
Jessica Noble: I don’t know that that’s really encouraging of diversity. I don’t like those comments about Chewbacca.
Jim Bridenstine: Brian Berger, Brian Berger is right here. He is represented by Chewbacca.
Left: SpaceNews Editor-in-Chief Brian Berger in a selfie taken at the Garden of the Gods, a Tatooine analog site in Colorado Springs. Right: An AI-assisted image of a Chewbacca selfie.
Mike Gold: Brian Berger and Chewbacca deserve a medal.
Jim Bridenstine: And Pete Canito, I don’t know where he is, he’s the CEO of Redwire. He’s represented by Wolverine. Go ahead and continue your line of reasoning.
Jessica Noble: So I do want to rebut a few points about the crew portion of the Millennium Falcon. I mean, the Starship Enterprise. It’s like comparing a naval battleship to a Ford Explorer.
A.C. Charania: Point taken. I’ll agree.
Jessica Noble: You’re looking at a governmental, quasi military space vehicle versus a personal spacecraft. They’re just looking at the speed capabilities, the durability, the stealth of this personal spacecraft. I think, all things considered, that we’re looking at an incredible technical achievement from the Millennium Falcon, as well as you do need a team of pilot and a copilot, and Chewbacca was an incredibly capable copilot. So laugh it up, fuzzball.
Mike Gold: The Millennium Falcon.
Jim Bridenstine: Again, it is not your turn. We’re gonna go to Camille.
Camille Bergin: Hmm, man, I just can’t keep following her. She’s so good at this. But also, from that perspective, a personal spacecraft. We’re all about commercialization right now, aren’t we? Yeah, not government owned and operated.
Jim Bridenstine: So what she’s saying is that Redwire as an institution is really leaning towards Star Wars. Is that correct?
Jessica Noble: I mean, are they a commercial organization?
Mike Gold: Who supports the International Space Station and the Gateway. Those are very much in the vision of Star Trek.
Camille Bergin: Oh, time is running out.
Jim Bridenstine: All right. We’re gonna go to a final question. I know we’re getting short on time. But there’s so many to pick from here. Let’s go with this. And I’m going to turn to the audience for this one. Leonard Nimoy or Harrison Ford, let’s start with that. You’re in the audience, you’re in the audience. And I’m gonna give the audience a chance…
[Audience member answers off-mic]
Jessica Noble: I don’t know, I’m going to agree with her. That’s a better comparison, of Shatner versus Ford, that’s a better comparison.
Jim Bridenstine: Disregard, it’s gotta be Leonard Nimoy. Okay, from the audience, just by voice votes, Leonard Nimoy?
[AUDIENCE CHEERS]
From the audience, voice vote, Harrison Ford?
[LOUDER CHEERS].
I mean, that’s not even close. All right, from the audience, we’re gonna go William Shatner and Mark Hamill. From the audience, William Shatner?
[AUDIENCE CHEERS]
From the audience, Mark Hamill?
[AUDIENCE CHEERS]
Would you like to respond to the audience’s favoritism? Based on the cast?
Mike Gold: William Shatner has actually been to space. Again, Star Trek, seeing reality rather than fantasy, science versus science fiction, hope versus despair. Peace versus war.
Camille Bergin: Harrison Ford is a pilot
Mike Gold: William Shatner is an astronaut.
Camille Bergin: Barely.
Jim Bridenstine: Okay, I think I have heard enough. And it’s time for me to render a decision. What is the next step in this process?
Jeff Foust: I think we should give each side two minutes to make final closing arguments. Maybe they’ll sway you. Okay, who do we start with? Star Trek.
Mike Gold: Again, Star Wars is a lot of fun. I loved Star Wars as a child. John Williams is a genius, but it’s fun. The dessert. Star Trek is something to strive for. Star Trek is something that the Artemis program takes inspiration from. It’s something that NASA has taken inspiration from. It’s something that we aspire to be. We ask the question about what’s better, the Enterprise or the Millennium Falcon. In a fight, the Enterprise would probably take out the Millennium Falcon in seconds. But you know who wouldn’t do that? Captain Kirk, because we’re always trying to make friends first and use violence as a last option. Star Trek is about becoming better than who we are, about building a better future. And while Star Trek is fun, you know, I’ve dedicated my life to implementing the vision of Star Trek. I think it’s more inspirational than any fantasy.
Jim Bridenstine: Real quick, there needs to be some level of balance here, would you argue that Yoda would want to make a fight before making peace? That’s what he’s insinuating. If you’re gonna make these types of accusations…
Mike Gold: I would say that wars is in the name. It is pretty explicit.
A.C. Charania: I think for me, Star Trek is really based upon the world we want to create in our lives: infrastructure, transportation and the evolution of the human condition. And I think we’ll end on our side with a quote from the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When Q talked to Captain Jean-Luc Picard after this journey through multiple time periods, and he said the following: ‘For that fraction of a second you’re open to options you never considered. That is the exploration that awaits you, and awaits all of us. Not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknowable possibilities of existence.’ And that to me, is fundamentally why Star Trek resonates with me, resonates with you and resonates with our future. Thank you.
Jeff Foust: Alright, closing argument, Team Star Wars.
Camille Bergin: We gotta get some fun in here, guys. It’s all so serious about humanity’s future and how bad things are and wars and oh my goodness. Okay. Lightsabers: superior. Podracers: superior. Also Star Wars has way more cute little things in it. BB8. R2D2. Um, let’s see. You can also experience it yourself. You can go to Tunisia and go to Tatooine. That’s pretty cool. There’s also the Star Wars Canyon in Death Valley. It’s pretty cool. So I feel like it’s a lot more immersive. I feel like the whole franchise is bringing us into the fold, bringing us into the sci-fi, into this fantasy, if you will — but that’s how dreams start, is the fantasy.
Jessica Noble: I’m gonna pick up on that, on that aspect of it being science fantasy, it kind of seemed like that was being bandied about as you know, derogative. But there’s something to science fantasy that also inspires all of us, that makes us lay awake at night and wonder what if I could be the pilot of a spaceship? What if one day I can be a Jedi Master? And on that vein, let me talk a little bit about the Force and that aspect of Star Wars, because we’ve talked a lot about striving for that world that we want to live in. Well, it’s the same thing with this concept of the Force. This is an energy; a field that binds us all. It is the reminder that all of us, no matter who we are, where we are from, we are all connected. There were some quotes brought up from Star Trek. I do want to reference — it’s not one of the original characters from Star Wars, but one of the newest ones who has become near and dear to my heart, the character of Ahsoka Tano. A character who shows us that you can be confronted with difficult situations, that you can be confronted with choices and that there are paths you can choose and you can choose the correct path. But as Ahsoka Tana would say, ‘if I see someone in need, someone who needs help, I’m going to do whatever I can to help them no matter what.’ And to me that is part of the ethos of Star Wars.
Jeff Foust: All right. That concludes the arguments and now it is up to Judge Bridenstine to render a final decision, which will be the final word on the argument, at least within the jurisdiction of the Redwire booth, which closes in about 50 minutes so…whenever you’re ready, Judge Bridenstine.
Jim Bridenstine: Star Wars.
From left: NASA Chief Technologist A.C. Charania, Redwire Chief Growth Office Mike Gold, SpaceNews Senior Staff Writer Jeff Foust, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, “Galactic Gal” Camille Bergin and Jessica Noble, general counsel at iSpace Technologies U.S. Credit: Brian Berger/SpaceNews
Jessica Noble: I do want to say thank you so much to our colleagues for their arguments on Star Trek because all of them are valid. Star Trek is aspirational. It does inspire us and there’s a lot of greatness to Star Trek. So thank you both.
Mike Gold: We can all agree as long as there’s star in it — Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Stargate…
Jeff Foust: And Spaceballs, And so I’m expecting next year we will have Spaceballs vs. Galaxy Quest. Someone take a note of that, Pete. All right. Well, thank you very much. Hope you enjoyed it.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.