In my opinion, the statement, “the new space economy is getting real” refers to genuine and lively commitment by space pioneers and private companies within a global commercial space industry, aspiring to take on space travel and exploration to new frontiers. Two great examples of that, are two successful private companies, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX.
This week Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group (a British billionaire), and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez dedicate the ‘Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space' as SpaceshipTwo got released from WhiteKnightTwo at 51,500ft and for the first time tests and demonstrates its unique feathered re-entry system. The test has met all objectives and after re-feathering to the normal glide configuration, SpaceShipTwo made a smooth touchdown at Mojave Air and Spaceport.
The Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space is a combined terminal and hangar facility, built to support up to two WhiteKnightTwo and five SpaceShipTwo vehicles. The Gateway will house all of the company’s astronaut preparation and celebration facilities, a mission control center, and a friends and family area. There is also space committed to public access via the planned New Mexico Spaceport Authority’s Visitor Experience. In addition, the company is taking steps to expand its mission beyond commercial space tourism, and it announced last week that it had been awarded a contract under NASA’s Flight Opportunity Program for research flights to a potential value of $4.5m. More than150 Virgin Galactic customers from 21 countries attended the dedication ceremony and over 450 future astronauts worldwide have signed on to join Virgin Galactic for a voyage into space.
The second example of a successful private company is SpaceX, led by breakthrough innovator Elon Musk, which is the first private company to send a capsule into orbit and successfully recover it. This company has set its sights on the Dragon becoming the next American craft to carry astronauts. The aerospace company signed a $492 million launch contract (the largest in history) with the satellite company Iridium Communications. It also received a $75 million from NASA to develop an escape system for its Dragon spacecraft.
NASA's Role in the Next 25 Years
Recently, NASA has published the Global Exploration Roadmap; which is a document detailing the agency's plans for the next 25 years of space exploration. The plan is a vision of robotic and human space exploration within the solar system, with the premise that human may one day live and work in space; it reflects international effort to define feasible and sustainable exploration pathways into space. Agencies agree that human space exploration will be most successful as an international endeavor because there are many challenges for these missions and because of the significant social, intellectual, and economic benefits to people on Earth. The most common goals and objectives of the global Exploration Roadmap are, to search for life outside of Earth, extend human presence in exploring a variety of destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, developing exploration technologies and capabilities, stimulating economic expansion by supporting commercial entities, engaging in scientific investigations of, and from the solar system destinations, and providing opportunities for the public to engage in space exploration.
The historic purpose of space travel was primarily a matter of competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, each wanted to gain the upper-hand in space and military technological superiority, while the primary purpose of the current and future space travel and exploration has shifted focus into scientific research and exploration of space to include private companies engaging in investigations and explorations for the purpose of benefiting mankind from technological advances to the possibility of space travel, tourism and the search for life outside of our planet. This purpose is in fact of significant benefit to mankind because it is not just a matter of space travel and tourism, it is a matter of attaining new frontiers to enhance our lives. The undertaking of such endeavors require a big investment of time and money and I am glad that pioneers such as Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk of SpaceX are two of many great pioneers whom work and achievements have and will continue to benefit us all whether directly or indirectly.
The only possible career implication to the current direction of space travel that I could think of is the reality that global and national space agencies such as NASA may not offer as many career opportunities as they once did in the past and may end up loosing some talents to the private sector as more private companies gets their hands on this promising industry. Overall, I think the space economy will grow steadily in the next 25 years, creating more jobs both in the public and private sectors. I think it is extremely important that private companies must plan extensively and prioritize safety in every aspect of their work when investing and engaging in the space industry, simply because failing a mission is not tolerable by the commercial space industry and especially by investors.
I agree that the space economy will steadily grow in the next 25 yrs. It is also important that you included the private companies as potential partners in the overall success of this new industry. Personally, I have a feeling that travelling in the open space will heat up the competition between space-pioneer countries.
ReplyDeleteThe evolution of space interests I think is the most important aspect to the future of space exploration and expansion. Competition between the private market players will be the deciding factor in how quickly new technologies and discoveries will be made. The company's that receive NASA grant money will probably point to the lead competitors.
ReplyDeleteVery nice, well-written post with some good information.
ReplyDeletenice picture! I think competition will be the key to space travel, I mean look what it did for NASA (it put a man on the moon) and for aviation as well. I don't know how safe this will be, but if people are willing to pay for it, I guess it will be a success.
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