Cutting Edge Computing

Space, the Never Frontier July 20, 2021

A couple of years ago I ran in the Gateway to Space “road” race, which actually involved going to Cape Canaveral and running the Space Shuttle runway (I’ve since done it again, but have to pass later this year).  A part of that experience is being on hand to visit the Kennedy Space Visitor Center, the central tourist attraction for those inclined to understand and appreciate our space program.

Despite the seeming somnambulance of our national space program over the last decade, the Kennedy Visitor Center presents an optimistic and glowing future, led by a public/private partnership that emphasizes exploration with exploitation of both the moon and of Mars.

You see where this is going.  This year Richard Branson, through Virgin Galactic, and Jeff Bezos, through Blue Origin, have participated in suborbital flights, perhaps marking the dawn of a new Space Age that seamlessly combines science, exploration, and commercial ventures.  It’s only a matter of time before Elon Musk joins them through his own venture, SpaceX.

Yes, all are billionaires.  And I will not begrudge their (financial) ability and willingness to be the public face of space exploration in the future.  If I had a few billion dollars, there is a high probability I would do the same.  If the recent flights are a little too reminiscent of little boys flaunting their expensive toys, I might be willing to excuse that in favor of a renewed excitement over space exploration.

But it is troublesome that this is coming almost entirely from private industry.  In one sense, this is little different than thirty years ago, where private industry (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Thiokol, etc.) essentially designed and built our space capsules and delivery vehicles, under the loose control of NASA.  Industry was still the building blocks of our space program.

But this feels very different today.  Space will be commercially exploited at some point in time, and these three entrepreneurs and companies will likely be at that forefront.  My problem is with the public faces.

But with NASA and the government in charge, we had ordinary people who we could think of, ultimately, as hero explorers.  Here in New Hampshire, we have the Christa McAuliffe-Alan Shepard Discovery Center and Planetarium.  I met John Glenn once, as a United States Senator, and Neil Armstrong, outside of the Delta Sky Club in Cincinnati.

These were ordinary people, defined by their exceling in their respective fields and demonstrating that anyone can make the space travel dream a reality.  We could be among them. Today we don’t have that.  Instead we have billionaires who are in that position by virtue of their wealth rather than their ability and drive.  Yes, they made their billions on their own volition, but now space seems to be a fun distraction for them.

And that troubles me for the future of our space program.