What Can Billionaires In Space Do For The Rest Of Us?

For decades, NASA – a U.S. government agency funded by American taxpayers — was responsible for all things space. Their mission? To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity. And they delivered. We now know more about space and have new technology that society uses every day. But the cost of running a space program is expensive and launching astronauts into space was retired in 2011. Insert billionaires into the space conversation. Billionaires now have the technology and resources to potentially start space tourism and jumpstart a space economy. But is this a good thing? Myles explores the question: What benefit does the new age of space travel by billionaires have for us?

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What was the space race like BEFORE the billionaires?

For decades, NASA — a U.S. government agency funded by American taxpayers — was responsible for all things space. Their mission? To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity. And they delivered. We got the International Space Station, the Hubble Telescope, and a rover on. But running a space program is expensive, and in 2011 the Space Shuttle program that had been launching astronauts into space for 30 years was retired because it was too expensive.

Why do billionaires want to jump into the space race?

Reason 1 is cost. Private companies can launch a rocket into space more cheaply than NASA can, all because of one of the defining principles of capitalism — competition. Companies compete. Prices drop. More companies get into the game. They get more efficient at offering a better product. Prices drop again. Reason 2 is that these billionaires ALSO want to jumpstart space tourism. That’s the first step toward creating a larger space economy. Tourists mean you need new workers. Which means new businesses. Which means you need places for these people to stay.

So what’s the problem with billionaires in space?

When FOR-PROFIT companies are in charge of space exploration, profit can become the primary motivation. Space tourism might just end up benefiting the wealthy, where super-rich people take joyrides into space just for fun. Think about what that could mean for the environment. Virgin Galactic wants to get to the point where they’re making 400 space flights a YEAR. Just one of those trips puts out enough carbon pollution that it’s the same as driving a car one time around the planet.

SOURCES:

Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness

Commercial space companies have received $7.2 billion in government investment since 2000 

NASA’s FY 2020 Budget

Environmental concerns grow as space tourism lifts off 

Billionaires in space: The launch of a dream or just out-of-this-world ego?

The solar discs that could power Earth