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Commercialization

The Space Policy Wheel Turns

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
December 12, 2012
Filed under , , ,

Here We Go Again. The Space Policy Wheel Turns. What Was, Is, Dennis WIngo
Just as the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 did not put the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads in charge of the economic development of California and the yet to be formed states in between, there is no reason for NASA to be in charge of the economic and industrial development of the solar system. Thus the vision statement for a national space policy short and succinct could be: “The economic and industrial development of the resources of the solar system for the benefit of the United States of America and all mankind is the goal of our national space efforts.”

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

5 responses to “The Space Policy Wheel Turns”

  1. Matt_Bille says:
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    Dennis, that’s not the only goal, though. The pursuit of scientific knowledge and the inspiration of future explorers belong in there somewhere.

    • Anonymous says:
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       The pursuit of scientific knowledge and the inspiration of future explorers belong in there somewhere.

      These things come as byproducts of reaching the goals, not the goal in and of itself.  Nothing I am talking about here precludes a NASA role in exploration or to lead the farther frontier aspects of exploration.  The difference is that today there are credible things that humans can do outside of the NASA role. that means that we need to find a mechanism  beyond direct government funding to fill the gap where  venture capital return horizons begin to look promising.  Elon Musk has been extremely lucky in that he brought enough of his own funds to the table to get the VC’s to stretch their return horizons a bit but this is not the norm in the VC world.

      Without something being done here none of the ideas like Planetary Resources, Golden Spike, or other human spaceflight efforts are going to be funded.  Too many people see the money in the Silicon Valley VC world without understanding how that process works.  They don’t care how visionary you are, it is all about return multiples, down round dilution, and ROI horizons.

      • Craig Levin says:
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        But, to use the Old West analogy again, the government’s endeavors made settling the West a possibility: The Corps of Topographic Engineers & the Coast & Geodetic Survey mapped this vast territory. USGS geologists created maps which prospectors could use. US Marshals provided law in parts of the West where the county structure hadn’t been set up. The Postal Service-either by contracting out or by direct service-kept people in touch & delivered packages.

        • Anonymous says:
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          Again, this is not libertarian space I am talking about here but just as the USGS did do the maps, they did not develop the mines and it was the railroad engineers that surveyed for the best routes over the Sierra Nevada for the Central Pacific.

          The government has a role and the private sector has a role but without both playing their parts there is no progress.  If you look at the history of new frontiers there has been this synergy.  If you even look at comsat development there has been this history.

  2. Anonymous says:
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    Read Bob Walkers Testimony on this subject…..

    http://science.house.gov/si