Dylan Taylor founded Space For Humanity in 2017 with the mission to look skyward while reaching inward. He wanted regular people to visit space and to experience the Overview Effect, a rare phenomenon only astronauts had known. He wanted humanity to bond through space. Essentially, Taylor sought to democratize space.
In 2022, Space For Humanity celebrated two pioneers of its groundbreaking mission. Kat Echazarreta and Sara Sabry flew in space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule, becoming the first representatives of Space For Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut Program. Echazarreta and Sabry, the non-profit organization’s CA-1 and CA-2, not only flew above the Kármán Line but also launched a new way people think about space.
The Overview Effect, a term coined by author Frank White, no longer belonged solely to the privileged few from certain countries, backgrounds, or life stations. Echazarreta, an immigrant from Mexico that later became an electrical engineer who worked in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, became the first Mexican-born woman to visit space. Sabry, a mechanical and biomedical engineer who founded the Deep Space Initiative, became the first Egyptian in space. They believe Space For Humanity is changing more lives than theirs.
“We’re already starting to see the effects,” Echazarreta said. “I’m already seeing so many little girls run to me with tears in their eyes, dressed up as astronauts, and saying the words for the first time, ‘I want to go to space.’”
Taylor said he wants to help send as many people to space as possible. As CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, Dylan Taylor guides a global firm that engineers space technology solutions and is developing a next-generation space station called Starlab. Considered the most active private space investor in the world, Taylor has seeded more than 50 early-stage ventures. Incidentally, the Denver-based Taylor also has been to space; he flew as a citizen astronaut aboard New Shepard in December 2021.
On that mission, Dylan Taylor experienced the Overview Effect, which accompanies the act of looking at Earth from above. Astronauts have described the profound ways in which that sight reframes their vision of home. Taylor said those moments made him feel more protective of the planet. Humanity could benefit from that perspective, Taylor said. Many aspiring astronauts seem to agree.
More than 7,000 people from more than 100 countries applied to become Space For Humanity’s first citizen astronaut. The organization reviewed candidates for their leadership skills, passion for serving humanity, and desire to drive change. Echazarreta transcended Space For Humanity’s expectations in each category while sharing a deeply personal understanding of the Overview Effect.
Born in Guadalajara, Echazarreta was separated from her family for five years as a child during the immigration process. Echazarreta’s grandmother would say, “Even though we are apart, we are under the same sky.”
“That message has always stuck with me,” said Echazarreta, now 27, “and speaks to the potential power of the Overview Effect, to understand that we are all connected on the same planet, facing the same challenges regardless of where we are physically located.”
Space For Humanity seeks to develop citizen astronauts who want to enact change on Earth. “To space, for Earth,” as the organization says. Taylor established the organization’s Overview Leadership training program to nurture and foster “transformational leaders” at home and beyond. He also believes that the technology we develop in space can enhance life at home.
“Space compels us to ask deeper questions,” Taylor said. “Space For Humanity is working to expand the opportunity for more people to shift their perspective to then catalyze meaningful conversations that ideally spark positive change.”
At Space For Humanity, Dylan Taylor has assembled a team determined to explore the boundaries of citizen spaceflight. That begins with him. Before going to space aboard New Shepard, Taylor bought two tickets: one for himself and one for a future citizen astronaut. He encourages other prospective space travelers to do the same.
“Space unites us in a way that nothing else can,” said Space For Humanity board member Andrew Aldrin, director of the Aldrin Space institute. “The people who are lucky enough to go to space return better equipped and more motivated to create a sustainable future. Space For Humanity is paving the way for a new kind of Overview Leader, which I believe will truly benefit the world in dramatic ways.”
