The shuttle has flown its last mission. President Obama has cancelled plans to return to the moon. NASA is getting restructured to perform a different type of mission. The days of space exploration, as we know it, are gone. It is now the dawn of a new age of Space Exploration. The Final Frontier is now a new Final Frontier. The real question is, what is happening now? What is NASA planning out over the next 25 years? Who is going to take on the role of the Astronaut now? Well, those answers aren't too hard to imagine.
First up, we have Virgin Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson has taken it upon himself to create the first commercial space fleet. If anyone can pull off commercializing space flight, it would be Mr. Branson. He has been a pioneer in the field of aviation, and it's clear that he is determined to bring this frontier to the common folk. On that note, he is also essentially creating a new need for pilots. Pilots will now become astronauts, of sorts. Low earth orbit is not like what NASA has done, but it's still considered space. Combine all of this with the fact that he has decided to create his 'spaceport' in New Mexico, and it's a win win for the United States aviation industry as a whole. Oh, and if you ever get a chance to read this Richard, contact me. I'm available. I will fly for food.
NASA, on the other hands, appears to not have abandoned its mission of Space Exploration (thankfully). NASA has released its Global Exploration Roadmap which details it's mission over the next 25 years, and it includes robotics, human working environments in space, a possible moonbase, Mars base, and the possibility of traveling to an asteroid in the future. It's good to see that NASA is trying to move forward with its original intentions, even if programs have been scrapped.
Eventually, and likely not in my lifetime, we will have the technology to venture to new worlds, new solar systems, and to colonize extrasolar planets. We have already identified a number of planets that could sustain life as we know it. The immediate affects of the space industry are rather apparent. There is massive potential growth for aviation jobs in the space industry. Virgin Galactic has already shown that there is a desire for commercial based space travel, with customers lined up for flights and having already paid deposits. The benefits are also limitless. The time required for commercial flights across the globe can be cut down dramatically. Technologies needed for sustained space flight can go to benefit mankind in ways we haven't even imagined yet. Essentially, the sky is the limit.
Hopefully, we will continue to innovate in ways not yet though of, and continue to offer the aviation industry new avenues of exploration, both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial.
Space commerce in the form of tourism is definitely alive and well. When people are lined up to take the plunge into space for a mere 200K it shows the world that their is great potential for profit, and when there is money to be made there will be people who will take the initiative to make it.
ReplyDeleteNice post. My favorite part is when you shout out to Richard.
ReplyDeleteGood information, and I agree, it is nice to see NASA has continued on a path of reaching new goals and has layed off on doing more of the same. It is interesting to think about the ability to colonize other planets. 80% of the stars in our sky have other orbiting bodies around them, which means there is a great possibility many of them are solar sytems containing planets similar to ours, given similar properties of our sun and distances between them. Too bad they are so far away, but hopefully, one day!
ReplyDeleteThe Virgin Atlantic definitely turned some heads when it was mentioned to be a commercial space flight. This was an innovated and sparked ideas for other private organizations.
ReplyDeleteI think that mostly Virgin Atlantic is just doing it for publicity. But i do think there is real potential. It will most certainly be just low orbit. Just high enough to get weightlessness for a few minutes. With NASA contracting and having test flights, this is where the private sector will make the money.
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