The Privatization of Space Transport

For as long as space has been explored by humans, NASA has existed at its very center as the de facto agency for transportation, innovation, and exploration, but its mission has changed, and it is no longer what it used to be; however, this is a boon to both private industry and the future of humanity.

The Golden Age of space exploration was when everything was still new and exciting:  space itself, Low Earth Orbit, the Moon, extended stays in space, and even the space station in more recent years.  But, for all intents and purposes, NASA has been acting in dual roles for at least the last two decades, attempting to explore beyond the reaches of Earth’s immediate region through satellites and probes, while also acting as a taxi service to the space station and performing other menial jobs.

NASA’s space shuttle was built for the purpose of ferrying equipment back-and-forth between the planet and space, but this locked them into a repetitive and highly uninteresting mission.  For all the space shuttle’s former technological glory, it’s a highly complex and over-designed piece of equipment that’s rarely, if ever, been used to its full potential and is rightly being retired – even if there is no immediate replacement.

With President Obama’s cancellation of the ill conceived plan to return to the Moon by 2020 using questionably expensive technology, NASA has been repurposed for its original goal:  true exploration of space.  Since the private industry is now going to be used to ferry supplies and equipment to the space station, deliver satellites, and other comparatively trivial activities, the agency meant for space exploration can now focus on what it’s historically best at.

The moon could serve a purpose as a waystation for future missions, which the Augustine Commission realizes, but other, more realistic goals, need to be addressed first.  A mission to Mars, visiting asteroids, and non-LEO exploration are more important, both scientifically and inspirationally, to humanity than returning to the Moon as some sort of symbol to demonstrate, once again, the prowess of the nation.  These issues, and more, must be addressed and achieved before a permanent “Moon base” can be considered, which is something the previous Administration failed to realize.

Between the contracts already handed out, and the impressive progress of organizations such as SpaceX, the future of space has been in the hands of private industry for some time, with the federal government only now realizing it.  This has, inevitably, upset Congressmen and other politicians from states like Texas and Florida, but it’s important to note that the partial loss of NASA to their states will not devastate their local space industry:  highly specialized parts still need to be produced for those venturing into space, and dry, arid, dependable climates will still be required for both the launch and landing of spacebound vehicles.  California, Nevada, and New Mexico have so far been the choices of the next generation of space explorers, but, with the right incentives, it need not be this way.

While this reorganization of NASA’s mission and funding may sound like a loss of ability or face for the United States’ future, this could not be further from the truth.  Just as the Pentagon outsources weapons and vehicle development to private industry, to great success, so too will the space agency.  Private industry has a habit of taking technologies and ideas much further than governments or agencies, of any kind, can and humanity’s foray into space will likely be no different.

This is a wonderful time for those who believe in the final frontier.

Kyle can be found on his blog, on Facebook, via email, or on Twitter.