OUST has a vision for the future of higher education that will see space technology education as the gold standard by which all other institutions are measured. This includes openness that makes all courses freely available to anyone world-wide with access to simple internet technology.

Funded research and teaching opportunities will be still be available on a competitive basis, but access to post-graduate courses will be free for all who qualify.

The development of a viable space economy is the acid test of whether humanity progresses into a Utopian future where resources are practically infinite, or whether the current downward spiral of an Earth-bound civilisation with shrinking resources and increasing demand will continue until it either destroys itself, or at best stabilises in some dystopian nightmare of endless austerity.

Given that after nearly sixty years of spaceflight, we have not achieved anything close to low cost access to space, the challenges of developing a profitable space industry in the next few years may seem unrealistic, but OUST does not think so. We believe that this goal can be achieved with 10 years and that the time to start intensive efforts towards that goal is now.

OUST believes that specialised training in space technology for all persons involved in the design and deployment of spacecraft and in the running of a space industry, is one of the essential ingredients of making the goal of a space-based civilisation viable, now and into the long term.

We intend to provide courses and research programs that will thoroughly explore and understand all areas of space endeavour, from the most technical areas to the humanities disciplines. Students will be encouraged to take some courses from both these areas, irrespective of their area of special interest.