The Consequential Frontier: Challenging the Privatization of Space - Hardcover

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Peter Ward studied journalism at the University of Sheffield before moving to Dubai, where he reported on the energy sector. After three years in the Middle East, he earned his master’s degree in business journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His work has appeared in GQ, Bloomberg, The Economist, and Newsweek. He lives in New York City.

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Introduction, The Consequential Frontier
Introduction

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, SPACE BELONGED TO THE GODS. Their names still loom large today—each planet in our solar system but our own is named for a Roman or Greek deity, and we continue to invoke ancient myths and legends through our spacecraft, from China’s Jade Rabbit Moon lander to the Ares rocket. But just as technology and scientific inquiry eradicates mythology and superstition here on Earth, the development of space technology like telescopes, rockets, and probes have increased our understanding of the cosmos greatly, and the gods have lost some of their power. Space is now the domain of humanity.

We first stepped out into the cosmos as explorers. We marched into the cold abyss of space in the name of science, as nations flung their best and bravest off our planet to find the truths of our universe. But the mission is changing rapidly. While exploration efforts continue further afield, the tiny band of space close to our home is fast becoming a place of business, profits, and private companies. Corporations could soon rule the cosmos, and for all the dramatic warnings in science fiction, nobody is paying enough attention to the consequences.

WHEN NEIL ARMSTRONG AND BUZZ ALDRIN FIRST PLANTED their boots on the surface of the Moon in 1969, humanity collectively paused to wonder at the achievement. An estimated 600 million people around the world watched the black-and-white broadcast of man’s first steps on a celestial body, the high point of a 76-hour mission there and back.1 The Moon landing opened up a host of possibilities in space, and many imagined the inevitable Moon bases, settlements on Mars, and manned exploration missions to the further reaches of the solar system that would surely follow. But over 50 years later they are still waiting. Extraordinary feats have been accomplished since—we’ve landed on a meteor, sent a probe out of the solar system, and put robots on Mars—but nothing has captured the world’s amazement like the Moon landing, and the startling pace at which America reached the lunar surface.

The race to the Moon was fueled by the Cold War—two world superpowers fiercely competing to reach the cosmos first and establish dominance in space. When relations between the United States and the Soviet Union thawed, the impetus was removed and progress stalled. Now that thrust has returned in another form. The commercial space sector has emerged, bringing with it reusable rockets, lower prices, and a different reason to explore space—profit. But when driven by money, mankind has historically made decisions that in hindsight reveal themselves to have been shortsighted and detrimental to the species. In space, the consequences of such decisions would be just as disastrous out there as here on Earth.

When we send humanity off this planet and out into the solar system on anything approaching a permanent basis, there will be two key questions: What do we take with us, and what do we leave behind? Spreading out into the universe allows the species to examine itself closely, to look at its faults, its mistakes, and its petty failings, and decide to start over without them. It’s hard to do that when the primary motivation for those taking us to the stars is making money back here on Earth.

Without careful thought, monopolies will be built, profit margins widened, and inequality spread. Space is a tricky topic to consider (and write about)—the industry is moving extremely fast toward goals that are a long way away. Focus too closely on the short term and you’ll find yourself behind the times, and look too far into the future, and you’ll be dismissed as another star-gazing science-fiction fan. The fact is that major changes are happening now, spurred on by the demands of industry and economics. And so we must decide if we want to hand over the fate of space to private companies, as we have done so problematically here on Earth. Money is driving this race. It’s fueling the rocket launches, funding the startups, influencing the right politicians, and buying access to the cosmos. With so much money involved, we should all hope that science, exploration, and the good of the species isn’t lost on the journey, or the effects back here on Earth will only be negative.

One of the principal arguments against going to space is that we should solve our earthbound problems first. It’s a simplification of a much more complex issue, and one I don’t subscribe to. There will never be a perfect time to move further into space, no utopian future on Earth where the only possible next step is to go beyond our terrestrial home. Space shouldn’t be viewed as a luxury to be undertaken after every other achievement is accomplished, and we must explore it for its potential to help with these problems. Nothing brings the species together with a sense of pride and victory like a major milestone in space—and anything accomplished off the planet, when done in the name of humanity rather than private interests, is a success for every person on the planet.

Many of the technologies being fired off into space already stand to benefit us here on Earth. The new wave of microsatellites can bring connectivity to people all over the world, a major factor in reducing inequality. Health breakthroughs in space can help millions, and even technology designed to keep us alive on other planets will come in handy as climate change continues to ravage ours. I hold a lot of hope for the future of humanity in space, and applaud wholeheartedly the efforts to become a multi-planetary species. But the potential to do amazing things for people here on Earth only makes it more important to get it right—and the commercial space industry is taking off so fast, it may be hard to catch up.

Just like a rocket blasting off the face of the planet, the commercialization of space has taken place in stages. The heavy lifting that got humans off the ground initially was done by NASA and the governmental agencies of Russia and Europe. NASA has probably done more than any other agency in the world to advance the achievements of humanity in space, but has struggled with a lack of funding, the dwindling attention of the American public, and bureaucracy. The Apollo program, which took Armstrong, Aldrin, and 10 others to the surface of the Moon, brought great success right up until it was ended in 1975, as the Russian and American space agencies began working together.2 It’s successor, the Space Shuttle program was approved by President Richard Nixon in 1972, and first launched in 1981. The Shuttle program’s main use turned out to be helping build the International Space Station (ISS), one of the greatest feats of global cooperation, which still orbits the planet today. Despite a long list of accomplishments, including becoming the first-ever reusable spacecraft and launching many satellites and telescopes into space, the Shuttle period of NASA disappointed because it failed to build on the successes of Apollo. It was also beset with problems, which twice proved to be fatal. The Shuttle program, with no real alternative, continued beyond its expected retirement date and flew its last mission in 2011.3

At that point NASA found itself in an odd position—for the first time since the 1960s, it had no way of reaching space. The next generation of NASA spacecraft was far off, and the agency was forced to do two things: one was to hitch a ride on Russian rockets headed to the ISS, the other was to seriously consider commercial launch partners to send resupplies, satellites, and astronauts into space. The door for commercial companies looking to establish themselves in the launch industry was now wide open, and in walked a couple of...