76 years ago, a satellite showed us how new perspectives change the way we understand the world, business, innovation...
This is the story of how a satellite and a photo inspired the world and set the stage for TheCUBE to kick off a radical idea of our own.
3,2,1… launch!
It is said that to look to the future it is good to review the past.
Let's have a look back then:
What does this image tells you?
I guess not much... This is the first photograph taken of the Earth from space that allowed scientists, engineers and astronomers to see the Earth from "outside".
But let's go a few years ahead...
The ATS III satellite left the earth on November 5, 1967 with the purpose of testing new technologies and communications. It was also the first one to send us a picture that could change the way we understand the world.
This is the first existing color image of the earth taken from space. While it may seem simple, this picture can only be taken at a certain time and place. You cannot see the Earth as a globe unless you are at least thirty thousand kilometers away from it and placed in a straight line between the sun and the Earth.
But what is truly romantic (sort of saying) about this image and the satellite that took it, is how it allowed us to see the Earth from a perspective we had never imagined, expanding our vision and revealing a scenario of thoughts and opportunities never seen before.
After several trips to space by crews such as Apollo 17 and its famous photograph of "the blue marble", the writer Frank White created the concept of the "Overview effect". According to Frank White, it consists of "a cognitive shift of consciousness, reported by some astronauts during spaceflight, when they first observe the Earth from space."
And this is the story of a satellite and a photo that inspired us to create TheLABS.
Spaces that allow our partners and customers to explore outside their day-to-day lives, performing as satellites, to create new perspectives and innovate outside the boundaries of their organizations.
But this required a specific context, a specific place and a team to "take the picture" from a new angle. Can you guess who and where?
On a day-to-day basis, the ideation and execution of new ideas within a corporation becomes an obstacle course in which only the most conventional ideas reach the finish line.
Today we have 4 satellites, which we call InnovationLABS, with different exploration missions but with a common goal: to promote innovation outside the limits of what is known.
In future posts we will share with you how these satellites are exploring new business opportunities, executing market tests and fostering innovation, from project acceleration to collaboration with the global entrepreneurship ecosystem.
I would like to leave you with a quote from Xprize CEO Anousheh Ansari on her return from a space trip:
"The actual experience exceeds all expectations and it is something that is hard to put into words. All these things that we thought were impossible, we realize we can do."
We make things happen, even what seems impossible.
It’s just a matter of perspective.
MARCO TORRADO
Growth Manager
