Andrew M. Thorpe

The Commercial Space Age: Conquering Space Through Commerce

Издательство: 1st Books Library
1-4107-2076-4
Книгопечатная продукция
Объем: 414 стр.

Space travel is very expensive. NASA spends billions of dollars exploring space every year. Is it worth it. What are the social benefits from such an extravagant enterprise. Shouldn`t we be spending the tax money on better schools, government services, or universal health care.

Contrary to what many people may think, space generates huge amounts of money for the world economy. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, at least $80 billion dollars are made in space each year. It is a big industry that employs small armies of people and continues to be a growth sector of unlimited potential.

1 his hook does not explore fanciful government sponsored science projects, but instead, a businessman`s dream of the same type, with profits not politics, as the driving forces. Space commerce, whether it is federally or privately funded, is already here and getting bigger everyday. Current space markets and revenues will amaze even the most skeptical. The near future shows potential for tourism, energy, manufacturing, and mining that large companies and wealthy individuals can afford.

Commerce, not science or politics, will be the next new driver of the space age. Scientists and military personnel will become the co-pilots and customers, along with wealthy citizens and business people. Most emphatically, commercialization is not meant to dumb down or discourage scientific research in space. On the contrary, cheap launch vehicles and skillfully managed orbiting laboratories will facilitate science, not comprise it.