"Reach low orbit and you're halfway to anywhere
in the solar system" ---
Robert Anson Heinlein
"The meek will inherit the earth. The rest of us will go to the
stars." --- Anonymous
Reasons
for Space
I have been an enthusiastic supporter of unmanned and manned
space exploration for almost as long as I can remember. As a result of
the tragic Challenger accident, and the economic recession of the late
1980's and early 1990's, the idea of exploring and exploiting space for
humanity's benefit has become deeply unfashionable in some quarters, being
regarded as an unnecessary and expensive luxury. Nevertheless, I still
believe that space exploration is of the greatest importance for the future
of humanity both as a technological culture and as a species, and for
the future of all life on Earth. Here, briefly, are my reasons:-
Near-term:
Practical applications of space technology
are already very important to us, but transparently so; we often don't
realise we're using them. Global communications, weather forecasting,
navigation, search and rescue, location of mineral resources, global
environmental monitoring; all are dependent to a large extent on satellite
systems. Continued improvements in technology will lower costs and
improve reliability, making satellite systems affordable for less
wealthy nations and bringing their benefits to a large number of people.
Space development acts as a powerful focus for international political
unity in uncertain times; the European Space Agency is a case in point.
Space is a challenge; the struggle to overcome the harsh conditions
of space is a strong driver for technological advance.
Medium-term:
Space is rich; the inner solar system
contains vast quantities of industrially valuable materials and virtually
free power in the form of sunlight. Given sufficiently cheap access
to orbit, there is huge potential for economic growth, and for individual
fortunes to be made. Space is a vision; a future for humanity without
horizons. If we remain solely confined to this planet, what do we
have to look forward to? Restricting our population, recycling, being
tidy, maintaining the status quo. Manifest destiny may be politically
incorrect, but it beats good housekeeping hands down as a vision to
stir the soul.
Long-term:
Space is insurance; global astrophysical catastrophes such
as asteroid impact have seriously affected Earth's biosphere in the
past and will do so again in the future. Establishing a space infrastructure
and constructing biospheres off-earth are our only long-term insurance
of continued survival.
RLV
News:
RocketForge:
CATS:
Cheap Access to Space
Critical to the future development of space is the reduction
of the cost of launching cargos to orbit. With launch costs as high
as they presently are ($5,000-10,000 per kilo) the range of commercial
applications is severely limited, and some (such as space tourism) are
effectively impossible. However, continuing developments in launcher
technology will soon make it possible to reduce these costs by a factor
of at least 10 and possibly 100. Most exciting are developments in SSTO
(Single-Stage To Orbit) craft, true spacecraft which can reach
orbit and return in one piece without jettisoning expensive booster
stages or fuel tanks. For further information:- Reusable Spacecraft & Next-Generation Launchers Suborbital Scaled Composites/The Spaceship Company
- SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo Rocketplane LLC Space Adventures - Explorer XCOR Aerospace - Xerus Armadillo
Aerospace - Black Armadillo PlanetSpace - Canadian Arrow Masten Space Systems
- XA series
TGV Rockets
Space Exploration