|
|
 Taylor Dinerman. (credit: Christopher Stone) |
In memoriam: Taylor Dinerman
by Christopher M. Stone
Monday, February 22, 2021
Recently, The Space Review lost one of its longtime contributors, Taylor Dinerman. The son of a World War II veteran who was educated in Geneva one of the United Nations’ hubs in Europe, and himself a wounded combat veteran who defended the Jewish home state, Taylor was no stranger to the ways of the world, its diverse cultures and languages, and the many differences of opinion and perspectives that ranged the gambit of his interests in the overlapping studies influencing national and international dynamics. Because of this experience in the political, military, and academic realms, he was motivated to put these observations to pen in various newspapers, journals, and studies through such publications and think tanks as National Review, Gatestone Institute, Hudson Institute, Wall Street Journal, among many others.
One of his passions where he spent a great deal of time and attention was space policy, including such areas as national security, civil exploration, and commercialization. His people skills gained through his upbringing in both Geneva and Washington, DC, helped him create a tremendous network that added both depth and credibility to his writings. A mutual friend told me that even senior government officials, such as secretaries of defense, were aware of and interested in his writings on space strategy and policy. As such, his knowledge and expertise gained him friendships and contacts in the space profession with such luminaries as Apollo astronauts, admirals and generals, developers of the Strategic Defense Initiative, and advocacy groups such as the Space Frontier Foundation, L5 Society and the National Space Society.
| His knowledge and expertise gained him friendships and contacts in the space profession with such luminaries as Apollo astronauts and admirals and generals. |
He wrote in support of visionary concepts such as space-based solar power and even worked with several international startups seeking capital to make the vision a reality. Finally, towards the end of his life, he wrote on the need for a strong national space defense via a US Space Force and the perspectives and plans of the Chinese in space. This view on China was not merely academic: as a longtime resident of New York City, Taylor spent a great deal of time meeting with various ambassadors and attaches from both allied countries and the People’s Republic of China.
Future issues of The Space Review will still be outstanding, full of thoughts, perspectives, and visions of America and the world’s future in space, but it will be missing something. The space professional debate will be missing one of its friends, allies, and mentors. The good news is that all of his writings will remain archived for us to leverage in our own research, advocacy, and visionary writings found here and elsewhere. As long as this online journal of record exists, Taylor Dinerman will have some measure of immortality through his writings.
Thank you, Taylor. Farewell and Godspeed.
Christopher Stone is Professor of Space Strategy at Missouri State University’s Graduate Department of Defense and Strategic Studies in Washington, DC. He is the former Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy at the Pentagon. The views reflected here are his own.
Note: we are temporarily moderating all comments submitted to deal with a surge in spam.
|
|