Thomas Lagarde has a prediction for us: “In 20 years we are all going to be astronauts.”

“All of us?”

“Yes, you, me, the guy in the office over there, all of us,” he continues.

“But you’re getting your master’s in space architecture, not me!”

“It doesn’t matter,” he persists. “In 20 years the space program will be so privatized that you will buy a ticket for Mars as easily as for Europe.”

Gulp.

On Wednesday, November 18, the University of Houston’s Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) hosted an invitation-only reception that brought together leaders in the space and aerospace industries across the Houston region to promote the center, its academic programs, and the success of its students and alumni.