Private Business Should Lead the Way
in Space Exploration! (Source: Inside Sources)
If you want humanity to develop a space-faring civilization, you need
to understand that space should be a free-market frontier and
entrepreneurs should lead the way! Start by reorienting your thinking.
Space is a place, not a government program. It’s a place, a frontier in
which humans can work and live, invent and build, explore and develop —
a frontier in which private parties should take the lead.
One of the greatest benefits this explosion of private space activity
offers is inspiration to a country starved for a vision of achievement.
Philosopher Ayn Rand wrote of the Apollo 11 moon launch that it
“conveyed the sense that we were watching a magnificent work of art — a
play dramatizing a single theme: the efficacy of man’s mind.” Just as
private individuals settled the American frontier, so private pioneers
are leading the way into space, the free-market frontier! (3/25)
The Democratization of Space
(Source: Inside Sources)
Zipping among the stars is no longer something that can only be
achieved by global superpowers and multinational firms with deep
pockets and legions of rocket scientists. Instead, we are witnessing a
movement, one of democratization, that has made outer space accessible
to not only the global superpowers and large multinationals, but to
developing countries, start-ups, universities and even high schools.
To date, the credit for this democratization movement has been given to
technological advances like additive manufacturing technologies; small,
energy-efficient computing; and lower-cost launch systems. From this
landscape a stark reality is emerging — the challenge for the space
community no longer lies in cultivating legions of rocket scientists,
but instead in determining new roles for stakeholders and the
development of creative, novel business plans.
Today there is a need for a new economic model — one that is responsive
and agile — to govern civil and commercial space due to the reality of
continued political and budgetary uncertainty mixed with this growing
democratization movement. The new model must account for the lower
barriers to entry and the inevitable entry of more and more
stakeholders. Gone is the time when the governments dominated the
markets and national interests alone drove the development of the
outer-space environment. (3/25)
US Astronomers Discuss Importance of
Federal Investment in Science with Congress (Source: AAS)
Seventeen members of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) traveled
to Washington, DC, on 16 March 2016 to thank their members of Congress
for supporting research and development in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016
Omnibus appropriations and to ask for continued support in FY 2017 and
beyond. (3/22)
Space Center Houston Tops Cosmic
Spring with 18 Millionth Visitor (Source: SSH)
The weeklong Cosmic Spring festivities culminated with an incredible
milestone Saturday when the nonprofit Space Center Houston welcomed its
18 millionth visitor since opening in October 1992. The milestone was
celebrated by treating Mike Bhatnagar of Sugar Land, Texas to a
full-range of experiences available at Space Center Houston. (3/21)
Korea Plays Catch-Up in Space Race
(Source: Korea Herald)
From military to weather to asteroid mining, outer space’s seemingly
infinite scientific and commercial potential has in recent years been
enticing a growing roster of countries across the globe into exploring
the boundless expanse.
Despite being a latecomer to the bandwagon, South Korea is seeking to
expand its forays, such as with a moon probe, capitalizing on its
success -- following two failed attempts -- in lifting off its first
Naro space rocket in January 2013 with the help of Russia.
North Korea is deemed about two to four years ahead of its affluent,
tech-savvy southern neighbor in terms of rocket development due chiefly
to its years-long investment in building intercontinental ballistic
missiles entailing similar technologies. (3/25)
2020 is Set to be the Biggest Year Yet
for Mars Exploration (Source: TechCrunch)
2020 is set to be a good year for Mars exploration. The U.S., China,
UAE, Europe and Russia all have planned Mars missions that are
scheduled to launch, or likely to launch, in that year. There have been
more than 40 missions to Mars throughout history. Some of these
missions were failures, while others completed their goals and are no
longer operational. Today, there are two operational robots on the
Martian surface and five operational orbiters circling the planet.
Why is everyone launching in 2020? It’s part strategic, and part
coincidence. Because of the location of Mars relative to the Earth,
prime launch windows (where the least amount of power is required to
travel between the two planets) only open up every 26 months. One of
those windows happens to be between July and August of 2020, which is
when these missions are scheduled, or expected to launch. (3/25)
Human Spaceflight from Florida Next
Year 'Realistic,' Experts Say (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
Humans have not launched from Florida's Space Coast since NASA shut
down its shuttle program in 2011. But by the end of next year, Florida
could have two companies – Boeing and SpaceX – sending astronauts to
the International Space Station from the Cape Canaveral Spaceport.
Both companies have landed NASA contracts for the work. Boeing could
receive as much as $4.2 billion for crew launch services. SpaceX,
meanwhile, is in line to receive as much as $2.6 billion. Boeing has
already been awarded $621 million in contracts, while SpaceX has
received roughly $545 million. Ever since the shuttle stopped
launching, humans have gone to space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in
Russia aboard the country's Soyuz rockets, which will debut a new
version this year. (3/24)
DARPA Launches Program to Facilitate
Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (Source:
Parabolic Arc)
Hundreds of military, government and commercial satellites reside today
in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) some 22,000 miles (36,000
kilometers) above the Earth—a perch ideal for providing communications,
meteorology and national security services, but one so remote as to
preclude inspection and diagnosis of malfunctioning components, much
less upgrades or repairs.
Even fully functional satellites sometimes find their working lives cut
short simply because they carry obsolete payloads—a frustrating
situation for owners of assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
With no prospects for assistance once in orbit, satellites destined for
GEO today are loaded with backup systems and as much fuel as can be
accommodated, adding to their complexity, weight and cost. But what if
help was just a service call away? (3/25)
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