Saagar's Private Space

So, I have not finished my website for the final project yet. But trust me, you'll be quite impressed when I'm done. This will be the link to my website once I finish: http://saagarsprivatespace.weebly.com/

Essay 4: Space Exploration: The Role of Private Space Companies

Space Exploration: The Role of Private Space Companies

Saagar Patel

Oklahoma State University

           

            The year 2012 marked the year of one of the greatest international collaborations of all time, the completion of the International Space Station. The International Space Station is a low- earth orbit satellite habitable for humans. It was created as a joint project between five different space agencies from five different countries. USA’s NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, all, invested and participated to begin this project in an effort to conduct experiments in a microgravity environment. Nonetheless, the International Space Station has acted as a home for astronauts for 15 different nations. The creation of the International Space Station is truly a remarkable feat and can be compared to the U.S. manned moon landings as the greatest American scientific accomplishments. America will always take pride in being the nation with the first man to step foot on the moon and one of the major contributors to the creation of the International Space Station.  These accomplishments are well known across the world and have made the U.S.A. in the eyes of many as the world leader in space technology, innovation, and exploration. For the next great accomplishment in space travel to happen, dedication to space exploration must exist in a national sense. The space exploration program is definitely vital to this country and people across the U.S. feel its effects. Many of the new energy resources attempting to be discovered involve the exploration of space. A large amount of weather prediction has come from space technology. Also, space exploration truly just broadens the minds of people as it a subject that has a vast amount of information and the current knowledge regarding space barely scratches the surface. This is why space exploration is important to Americans across the country.

            The current era for the space exploration industry is one where the commercialization of space is occurring in a rapid fashion. There are numerous amounts of private space companies currently in existence, today, and they all have high ambitions and expectations. Space travel tends to be on the costly side when compared to many other industries, so it is just expected that these private space companies receive the majority funding from wealthy investors. These wealthy businessmen have a passion for aeronautics and space, and therefore are truly making an effort to advance space innovation. This is nothing new. This same sort of act has been happening for over one hundred years. One particular example involves the wealthy Guggenheim family of the early 1800s. According to Michael Burgan of the Las Cruces Sun News, the Guggenheim family was perhaps the biggest private contributor to the space industry of the past. Guggenheim’s passion for space and money, of course, was the primary resource for Robert Goddard’s development of the rocket. Goddard’s experiments and trials in efforts to develop the first true rocket were all funded and backed by the Guggenheim family. It can truly be said that the Guggenheim family were one of the main reasons for the Rocket Age. Today, just a couple of the well-known investors in private space exploration include Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk of SpaceX. Perhaps, these men are following in the footsteps of the Guggenheim family or perhaps in the footsteps of “philanthropists from Andrew Carnegie to John D. Rockefeller [who] helped fund… elaborate technology for scanning the cosmos” (Burgan, 2012).

            Space travel and exploration is at a point, today, where it is either going to slow down or thrive greatly. The commercialization of spaceflight is currently going on today in hopes of doing some of the work NASA is not currently capable of doing. Since NASA relies so heavily on the U.S. budget proposed each year, long-term projects and investments are difficult. Private space companies, on the other hand, are funded by extremely wealthy people who truly have a passion for space travel and exploration.  NASA will obviously continue to excel and make progress in the space industry, but may see a different role now with the rise of the private space industry. The private space industries can do many of the services for NASA for a lot cheaper, and therefore NASA can focus on more large-scale, futuristic projects. Today, to maximize space exploration efforts, the private space sector and the government space sector should collaborate. In the overall space exploration industry, he private space industry should have a more proactive role, while NASA can play a more conservative role acting as an oversight committee for these private space companies.

            Many private space companies have already made great strides in space exploration. The most well known private space company, and perhaps the one with the most current success, is Elon Musk’s SpaceX. According to the author of “The New Space Race,” an article found in Science Illustrated, “The new era, which has been dubbed Space 2.0, was launched in earnest in May, when SpaceX, a privately owned U.S. space company, saw its Dragon space capsule successfully dock with the International Space Station (ISS) to offload some 1,100 pounds of supplies and scientific equipment” (The New Space Race, 2013). Since then, SpaceX went one step further by successfully completing the mission of delivering cargo from Earth to the International Space Station and also returning cargo from the International Space Station back to Earth, making SpaceX’s Dragon the only capsule currently capable of accomplishing such as task. The next task SpaceX is embarking on is the task of completing manned missions. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is attempting to make space travel a tourist activity with their spacecraft SpaceshipTwo. The mission of their company, according to CEO George Whitesides, "’We want to enable people all over the world to experience what only about 500 people have seen: Earth from space and the surrounding universe’" (Haak, 2012). Even though the expected cost for citizens is supposed to be high, there will be enough customers for experiencing such a thing is so unique and until this happens, was limited to only a select few people. Like Virgin Galactic, Bigelow Aerospace Company is also attempting to extend its services to the general public for tourism as they are attempting to build residential inflatable modules in space. Another company dealing with low- orbit missions is XCOR. XCOR is a very small private space company in comparison to the others, having only 30 employees.  Brian Doherty, author for the publication Reason, learns from a visit with XCOR employee Michael Massée that “XCOR's main goal now is building and flying the Lynx, a suborbital vehicle to take tourists, experiments, and small satellite payloads out of this world” (Doherty, 2012). A private space company that has a different sort of task in mind is Planetary Resources, which is funded by Google co- founder Larry Page. Planetary Resources is a company that is planning to search for useful resources and minerals in space. The current mission of the company is to “use robotic spacecraft to mine asteroids for vital resources that can be brought back to Earth” (The New Space Race, 2013). The previous companies discussed are just a few of the many successful, aspiring private space companies in existence. As can be inferred, most of these companies have a mission in mind of what they would like their company to specialize in.

            Private space companies have the resources and funding to succeed compared to that of NASA. There are numerous private space companies in existence in the U.S., today, and the majority of these companies have experienced some sort of success. These companies are able to do such great tasks in such little time due to the great amount of funding and resources they receive. Almost every single one of these companies is owned and controlled by a very wealthy investor such as Elon Musk of SpaceX or Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic. Obviously, with the private space industry being relatively young still, these investors did not start these companies with the sole purpose of making a profit. Instead, these people have a passion for space exploration and are investing much of their previous earnings into ambitious projects in hopes of unveiling a new scientific discovery.

NASA also is working to reach high goals, but the organization will always be limited by the funding it receives. NASA is receiving less and less federal budget money each year, with the 2013 fiscal year being at a record low. Many can argue that funding NASA is not a priority with the current state of the economy. This may be true; however, taking a break from space exploration all together may, consequently, lead to the end of space exploration. Moreover, NASA has to use a major portion of its funding for a lot more than just space exploration. Private space companies can use the funding they receive solely for space travel which is partly the reason these private space companies are seeing such quick success. Nancy Trejos, author of the USA Today article “A New Space Race; Private Companies Dive into Space Transportation,” asserts that due to the fluctuating budget NASA receives each year, advancements in space exploration cannot solely rely on government alone (Trejos, 2012). This reason, alone, should spark the rise of the private space industry. At the end of the day, private space companies receive the funding they do and will see success because space exploration is something the investors want to fund, and not something that have to fund.

If the private space industry takes on much of the needs of space travel and exploration, advancements in space innovation will be seen due to the business competition between the private space companies. Commercializing space exploration paves a way for the private space companies to compete with each other just as any other business seen today. This competition will truly increase production and innovation. When one company accomplishes an amazing goal, such as SpaceX transporting cargo to and from the International Space Station, another company will attempt to advance this goal by taking it one step farther, such as carrying humans. Prior to the emergence of the private space industry, NASA was the sole entity dealing with space exploration in America and was no in competition with anyone else, potentially leading to less drive. History speaks for itself. When space race was going on, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were definitely competing with each other, leading to one of the greatest American accomplishments of all time. Regarding the rise of private space companies, the president of the space policy consulting firm PoliSpace James Muncy asserts that “we're making space more American. We're making space more democratic. We're making space more available, approachable and real to the average American” (Trejos, 2012). With more than just the government dealing with space transportation, an open market exists that characterizes the idea of American business. 20 companies all competing to find a way to reach Mars will see more progress than one entity, alone, attempting to do the same without any competition.

Since private space companies are not funded by taxpayers, they face less scrutiny and criticism. The public will always criticize NASA, whether in a positive or negative manner. During the moon-landing era, NASA received an enormous amount of praise but, today, with the current state of the economy, many view NASA as a waste of money and resources. Of course, the people do who have the right to have these opinions as they are the ones who are paying the taxes and NASA ultimately runs on tax money. Due to this constant spotlight NASA is under, many of the high risk, high reward projects do not get accomplished for the risk is not work the criticism. Tax- paying citizens, on the other hand, are not funding private space companies. Due to this, people are not as critical of them and are excited when there are new innovations in the space field. Also, this gives private space companies the opportunity to take chances.

Private space companies will have to take great risks to gain success. Since the public opinion is not as important, the private space industry is willing to take greater risks than that of NASA. According to Nola Redd of SPACE.com, for private space companies, “failure comes in two types — the loss of scientific opportunities and the loss of human life” (Redd, 2013). The loss of scientific opportunities can refer to losing resources and money into unsuccessful projects, which is something that most of these wealthy investors can afford to risk. The loss of human life is an issue that nobody can afford, but to advance the scientific community, the risk must be taken. As a government agency, NASA has to be as cautious and ready as possible, sometimes leading to missions getting delayed or postponed.  John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science and a former space shuttle astronaut, is quoted saying that “’the private sector is free to take those risks,’…pointing out that it doesn’t have to deal with government bureaucracy” (Redd, 2013). NASA has to justify why each cent is spent on a certain project. The private sector does not. However, private space companies should not rush into manned spaceflight. Losing a life is a type of failure that will receive public criticism and may even affect the existence of the private space industry. Many employees will resign and many prospective employees will lose interest in the company. Some will argue that private space companies should not deal with manned spaceflight at all. One panelist at a California Institute of Technology lecture regarding space commercialization argues that “NASA's record of two losses in 135 crashes is hardly ideal” and this occurred even with all the precautions taken due to being a government agency (Figueroa, 2013). With the tragedies faced in the recent past with the space shuttle, many are pessimistic about the idea of a private space company doing the same task- believing that the risk is even greater when not in the hands of the government. The same panelist also asserts that the Space Shuttle Program and the Apollo Program were very ambitious, but truly did not work to the extent expected and now the space industry finds itself in another experiment with the private space companies ambitions (Figueroa, 2013). This simply cannot be the attitude to excel in such a field. Being conservative will keep the U.S. stationery in terms of space innovation and probably surpassed by other nations. Private space companies have the opportunity to do great things, so they must attempt to do so. This is truly a high- risk, high-reward scenario. The rewards can truly be game- changing so the risks must be taken. This could either lead to an enormous breakthrough or a failure, of course. Nonetheless, the private space industry can say they truly tried to advance the space industry, rather than just playing it conservative.

In the current state of the U.S., the private space sector and the government space sector must collaborate and work together to truly make substantial advancements in space exploration. Currently, there are already contracts between NASA and private space companies to do some of the routine tasks involving space travel. Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) is a NASA program that will choose private space companies to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. This was created as a result of ending the Space Shuttle Program. The U.S. had to find an alternative way to get to the International Space Station rather than overpaying other nations such as Russia to use their transport vehicles. From this program, SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation have signed a contract with NASA to make routine deliveries to the International Space Station. As of April 21, 2013, Orbital Sciences successfully reached low- earth orbit, confirming both companies are capable of performing their duties. Private space companies can do many of the routine tasks for cheaper than NASA. After the final space shuttle flight in 2011, NASA paid a private space company, Virgin Galactic, $4.5 million to buy cargo space and seats on their suborbital vehicle for three flights. This price is “less than 1 percent of the cost of a single Shuttle launch” (McKelvey, 2012). Private space companies are not opposed to this job for acting as [the International Space Station’s grocery van is a valid business” (Star truck; private space flight, 2012). NASA does not want to stop advancing in the space industry and therefore will find private space companies to do such tasks. With private space companies able to get the same task accomplished for such a discounted price, NASA has no choice but to be a customer of these private space companies. According to Seth McKelvey, writer for the publication Reason, the role of NASA has changed from the “sole producer and consumer of space transportation to merely one consumer of several” but will continue to act as the gatekeeper (McKelvey, 2012). While NASA pays the smaller, private space companies to do the routine work, NASA can focus and do research on large- scale, futuristic projects. This relationship may contribute to the most success for the space industry. It will contribute to a constant effort seen in the space industry, rather than an occasional effort every time a large venture is presented.

Since space exploration is seen as a national effort, it is important that America stays at the forefront in space innovation. . Even though the commercialization of space travel will decrease the overall tax paid for space travel by the citizens, there are still many out there that are against the idea of space travel being done through the private industry. Many people will argue that the total commercialization of space will make space exploration less of a national effort and the U.S. will not receive deserving recognition. These people will claim that doing such an innovative feat such as exploring the moon, an asteroid, or even a new planet should give recognition to the country rather than the title of a company. However, given NASA’s fluctuating funding, space exploration just cannot solely be in the hands of NASA. Yes, total commercialization of space may take away recognition of the nation as a whole, but that is why there has to be a collaborative effort between the two sectors. Accomplishments arising from a collaboration of these two entities will truly be recognized as a national effort before an effort credited to a company. According to Peter Diamandis of the Wall Street Journal, a future where government only controls space ventures will not be sufficient to truly reach the final frontier (Diamandis, 2010).

Private space companies have the opportunity to accomplish great things in space exploration in the near future. It is evident that money will not be an issue for these private space companies to embark on their goals as they are funded by some of the wealthiest Americans. This reliability and backing in funding is an advantage over NASA due to the unpredictable funding NASA receives each year. Also, since private space companies are not being funded through tax dollars, they have the opportunity to venture on very ambitious ventures without the consent of the general public. This also plays an advantage to NASA. Private space companies are free to take chances, to take on risk. Even if they “strike out,” they can say they went to the plate swinging. Private space companies taking on the much of the routine work, with NASA acting as an oversight committee will be the model for America to continue its title as the leader in space exploration. Instead of referring to each as separate entities, combine the two. There should not be a distinction between the private space sector and the governmental space sector; there should just be an American space sector. This will truly lead to revolutionary discoveries that may prove to be game- changing. This is why space exploration is so crucial. Who knows if there is an accessible energy resource in space that can revolutionize the way Americans live? Who knows if there are life-sustaining environments in space? These are the questions that make space exploration so crucial and so interesting. There is still so much to be unveiled. The universe is considered infinite, so there will always be something new to be discovered. Everything that has already been discovered in space, today, is already remarkable, but Americans should not be already satisfied. The surface has barely been scratched. Who knows what waits to be discovered?

References

Burgan, M. (2012, July 22). Their view: Private space exploration a long and thriving tradition. Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved March 13, 2013 from www.lcsun-news.com

Diamandis, P. (2010, February 10). Space: The final frontier of profit. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 12, 2013 from http://online.wsj.com

Doherty, B. (2012). Space on earth. Reason, 43(9), Retrieved March 12, 2013 from www.reason.com

Figueroa, J. (2013, January 11). Panel: Private space exploration could make it easier to reach for the stars. Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved March 12, 2013 from www.pasadenastarnews.com

Haak, E. (2012). Space, the private frontier. Fast Company, (162), 15-15. Retrieved March 12, 2013 from Proquest database

McKelvey, S. (2012). (Still) getting off the ground. Reason, 43(9), 14-14. Retrieved from Proquest database

Redd, N. (2013, January 22). Scientists see big rewards (and risk) in private spaceflight. Retrieved from www.space.com

Star truck; private space flight. (2012, May 05). The Economist, 403(8783), 14-14. Retrieved from Proquest database

The new space race. (2013, Science Illustrated, 6(1). Retrieved from Proquest database

Trejos, N. (2012, August 14). A new space race; private companies dive into space transportation. USA Today. Retrieved from www.usatoday.com

Essay 3: Reflecting on my Research

The Importance of Research in an Effective Paper

Saagar Patel

Oklahoma State University

The research process is a long, crucial step in producing an effective, informative paper. Being in the engineering field, I have been accustomed to doing research in the past; however, this time it seemed different. I had much more difficulty. I learned that the research question one may initially choose to write about may not be the right one for the paper. It almost seemed like reading the sources found from research dictated the topic of the paper rather than the topic question dictating the research. Without a firm knowledge in the subject beforehand, one does not know what to expect from the sources and this is what makes the research process so important and powerful. The topic I researched for my paper was the current status of private space companies as well as the role that the private space industry should play in American space exploration. Doing the research on this topic was not easy. There were definitely times I had a great amount of difficulty such as choosing the correct topic, finding recent articles, and using more credible search techniques. The research process broadened my knowledge greatly and I will write the paper with much more confidence now.

Coming up with my research topic was not as easy as I thought it would have been. Honestly, at first, I wanted to choose the same topic I did for the first paper which was whether spending money and resources was a waste or not, but I did not know if I could do that so I started searching for new topics. I considered choosing a topic potentially dealing with airplanes for that is a major aspect of my major, but my interest truly is in the space field so I did not think that I would get as passionate about the paper, probably resulting in a poorer paper. So, I started “Googling” vague word choices such as "space exploration topics" and was having a really hard time finding a topic that I truly thought I could write a lot about. I, then, searched "space" on Reddit and saw the topics with the comments and discussions dealt with private space industry. I felt that a subject where many people are discussing and arguing is one of controversy and importance and potentially a topic with a great amount of available information. Private space industry interests me a lot, for it is probably where I want to work in the future. So, now I knew I was going to write about the private space industry, but still did not know what exactly to write about pertaining to this. After reading comments from earlier blog posts and discussion posts, I came to the conclusion of writing about how private space companies and NASA can work together. I wanted to write about what overall role the private space industry would have on space exploration. Will they partner with NASA? Will they do the small jobs for NASA? Will they do their own thing? It truly took a good amount of researching to develop this topic. .

With a subject pertaining to space exploration, updated and recent information is a must. This was an issue I came across during the research process. I would think that I have found a very useful source typically dated from 2008, but then I would find a source from a few years later that would make the previous source meaningless. Space exploration is truly still viewed as futuristic venture even though it is occurring today. Due to this, an educated reader would view any paper with information coming from outdated sources as not credible. I had to find the most recent status and information of private space companies. Most of the current information on private space companies could be found on their company website. I, eventually, decided that a little bit older sources could be used if they were trying to relay an idea about private space exploration, but the most recent sources needed to be used for information on the current statuses and goals of private space companies.

Until now, my methodology of research has been limited to searching for the topic on global search engines such as Google. This is how I began my research process for the current paper, as well. I found a great amount of information, but the credibility of these sources could not be confirmed. After about half of the way through the research process, I started using the Oklahoma State Library databases found on their website. At first, I had difficulty finding anything useful from the library databases. After changing the words and word ordering in the search field, I noticed different results. The slightest change in wording would result in a greatly different list of results. . Proquest was the database that most of my sources came from, but I also found a few on the LexisNexis Academic database. I think readers will find the paper more credible when the majority of the sources come from university databases rather than Google or Wikipedia. Credibility of the sources is one of the most important factors that goes into a strong research paper.

Overall, the research process for a paper truly determines the strength of the paper. If the research is done in a diligent and proper manner, the overall paper will reflect this. After going through this process, I have come to the conclusion that the research process is more influential to the overall paper than the writing. To write something useful requires useful information, which ultimately comes down to having conducted useful research. My appreciation for the research process has definitely gone up. I have found many useful and reliable sources, as well as broadened my own knowledge on the subject. I, originally, thought I could write a paper on this topic before doing any research, but now that I have done the research, I realize that my paper would have been very poor compared to what it will be now due to my gained understanding.

Essay 2: Sources for Success

Space Exploration: The Role of Private Space Companies

Saagar Patel

Oklahoma State University

            Space travel and exploration is at a point, today, where it is either going to slow down or thrive greatly. The commercialization of spaceflight is currently going on today with hopes of doing some of the work NASA is not currently capable of doing. Since NASA relies so heavily on the U.S. budget proposed each year, long term projects and investments are difficult. Private space companies, on the other hand, are funded by extremely wealthy people who truly have a passion for space travel and exploration.  NASA will obviously continue to excel and make progress in the space industry, but may see a different role now with the rise of the private space industry. The private space industries will do many of the services for NASA for a lot cheaper, and therefore NASA can focus on more large-scale, futuristic projects. With the private space industry being so proactive, NASA can play a more conservative role in the space industry almost acting as an oversight committee for these private space companies.

            There was a great amount of research conducted to understand and identify what private space companies have done, what they are planning to do, and how their role is foreseen in the overall space community. The majority of the sources discuss the optimistic goals of many specific private space companies. All of the sources are highly credible and most of them were found using the Oklahoma State University online database for articles and journals.

Burgan, M. (2012, July 22). Their view: Private space exploration a long and thriving tradition. Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved from www.lcsun-news.com

“Their View: Private Space Exploration a Long and Thriving Tradition” is a newspaper article written by Michael Burgan for the Las Cruces Sun News. The article primarily compares what a few innovators in the private space industry are doing today to people in the past and what they did in the aerospace industry. The author claims that the investors Elon Musk of SpaceX, Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, and Paul Allen of Stratolaunch are following in the footsteps and are part of the tradition of wealthy people with efforts to advance the space and aeronautics industry. The author uses small examples specifically of Charles Tyson Yerkes, a robber baron, donating $300000 to the University of Chicago to build an observatory and of James Lick, who was the richest man in California at time, leaving much of his fortune to the University of California in 1876 to build an observatory containing the world’s most powerful telescope. The author states “philanthropists from Andrew Carnegie to John D. Rockefeller helped fund ever more elaborate technology for scanning the cosmos” (Burgan, 2012). By him stating this, it shows that space exploration was truly a passion and concern for many wealthy people in the past and they did a lot to advance study in this field. The author further asserts that the Guggenheim family was perhaps the biggest private contributor to the space industry in the past. Guggenheim’s passion for space and money, of course, was the primary resource for Robert Goddard’s development of the rocket. Goddard’s experiments and trials in efforts to develop the first true rocket were all funded and backed by the Guggenheim family. It can truly be said that the Guggenheim family were one of the main reasons for the Rocket Age. Overall, this article shows that the passion for space exploration by wealthy entrepreneurs has always been there and has seen success so it is likely to see success again today.

Diamandis, P. (2010, February 10). Space: The final frontier of profit. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com

In “Space: The Final Frontier of Profit,” a Wall Street Journal article written by Peter Diamandis, the author argues that the existence of private space industry will be one of success due to its affordability and drive compared to government agencies. The author claims that private space companies will be the forefront in space exploration. There are two fundamental ideas that the author bases his argument. The first idea the author states is that now "private capital is seeing space as a good investment, willing to fund individuals who are passionate about exploring space, for adventure as well as profit" (Diamandis, 2010). Companies are now willing to invest in such endeavors as many investors are seeing the potential for return. It is no longer only affordable for large government entities. The author's second fundamental idea is that "companies and investors are realizing that everything we hold of value—metals, minerals, energy and real estate—are in near-infinite quantities in space" (Diamandis, 2010). There is a great amount of resources out there just waiting to be discovered and many companies want to do just that. One example the author uses as an analogy is the idea that Alaska was once seen as a wasteland, but now has a billion dollar economy. With private space companies having so many young, passionate employees, the will and drive is there to take on such a task. The author envisions the government to play the role of the "big customer" in the near future. Government will ask of the private companies for certain tasks to be accomplished. This will create competition between the different private space companies, ultimately advancing space innovation. The author concludes by asserting that a future where government only controls space ventures will not be sufficient to truly reach the final frontier. 

Doherty, B. (2012). Space on earth. Reason, 43(9), 60-61. Retrieved from Proquest database

In “Space on Earth,” an article written by Brian Doherty in the publication Reason, the author writes and discusses about his visit to the Mojave Spaceport where he is a guest of private space company XCOR. XCOR is a 30- employee company developed for space transport and space exploration. XCOR has already built two successful rocket- powered airplanes. Over a thousand launches have been done without any major injury to the aircrafts so XCOR boasts its vehicle’s durability. Their current, main concern is to build and fly the Lynx “a suborbital vehicle to take tourists, experiments, and small satellite payloads out of this world” (Doherty, 2012). The Lynx will be a vehicle they could use for tourism, which will bring in revenue, and experiments will advance the scientific knowledge of the space community. In his talk with a representative of XCOR, the author learns that companies such as XCOR are not just normal companies that lure your “average” American. Those who work for these companies are space enthusiasts and are doing this for more than the pay. Having only 30 employees, XCOR must be a very competitive company to work for. The author is also told that if the company turns into a profitable business, there will be more hype and therefore will lure more people to work in such an industry. The author concludes by asserting that the small town of Mojave dreams of great innovation and whether it is the profit or the pure love of space, more people will join in such endeavors to advance the space community.

Figueroa, J. (2013, January 11). Panel: Private space exploration could make it easier to reach for the stars. Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved from www.pasadenastarnews.com

The article “Private Space Exploration Could Make it Easier to Reach for the Stars,” authored by James Figueroa, discusses the views of a few panelists at a Caltech lecture concerned with the impact of space commercialization. The author acts primarily as just a narrator of the major conversations the panelists had. The author quotes the panelists continuously throughout the article. The topic primarily discussed between the panelists is the affordability of sending payloads into space or the idea of space tourism. One of the panelists discusses that this industry is different from other technology industries where you see products become better as the parts become cheaper. Sending a payload into space has not gone down in price, but he believes there is no reason it should be like that. There are views from other panelists, however, that affordability of such ambitious projects will just not occur any time soon and it is better to invest in ground based space technologies such as telescopes. Along with the cost of these projects, the safety of the passengers going into space is another major topic discussed. The author notes that one panelist “commented that NASA's record of two losses in 135 crashes is hardly ideal, but [other panelists] defended the space shuttle program” (Figueroa, 2013).

With the tragedies faced in the recent past with the space shuttle, many are pessimistic about the idea of a private space company doing the same task- believing the risk is even higher when not in the hands of the government. The same panelist also asserts that the Space Shuttle Program and the Apollo Program were very ambitious, but truly did not work to the extent expected and now the space industry finds itself in another experiment with the private space companies ambitions.  Overall, this article is helpful as it displays a view that is against the commercialization of space travel.

Haak, E. (2012). Space, the private frontier. Fast Company, (162), 15-15. Retrieved from Proquest database

In “Space, The Private Frontier,” an article written by Emma Haak published in Fast Company, the author discusses the plans of a few private space firms with intents of leading the way in space exploration. This article is similar to the “The New Space Race” found in Science Illustrated as it specifically lists a particular company and discusses their current major goal. Virgin Galactic is the company first mentioned. The author notes that their goal is to make a trip to space a tourist attraction. Their CEO says they would like for people all over to see the things so far only a handful of people have seen. The author discusses the plans of SpaceX, which most of these other articles already have. SpaceX truly is at the forerunner in private space industry and their success will pave the way for many others. Boeing is planning on building a spacecraft by the year 2015 to carry astronauts to the International Space Station. Haak quotes the VP of Boeing stating "’it would be unfortunate to cede leadership to others, then look longingly at their accomplishments’" (Haak, 2012).  Ultimately, the United States will work together to be the leader in space travel. At the end of the day, space exploration is seen as a national feat and these private companies do not want other countries to accomplish great feats first. XCOR is mentioned discussing their plans regarding the Lynx vehicle, which was discussed in the article “Space on Earth.” Overall, this article states what many of the other articles have by listing the primary goals of each company, but the insight of the leaders of these companies makes this article useful.

Luthra, S. (2012, August 10). Going private, space industry eyes state's open spaces: [national desk]. The New York Times. Retrieved from Proquest database

In The New York Times article “Going Private, Space Industry Eyes State’s Open Spaces: [National Desk]”, the author, Shefali Luthra discusses the effects and goals of a particular space companies efforts to build a launchpad site in Texas. The author asserts that much of the appeal that private space companies see in relocating to Texas is due to the history behind NASA’s mission control in Houston and the fact that NASA is facing budget cuts currently. The main issue private space companies face in order to receive financial incentives is the uncertainty of job creations in the area. Gilberto Salinas, the executive vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council asserts that the development of the SpaceX would inject around $50 million dollars in annual salaries into the city’s economy.  This implies that there are economic benefits for the area inviting the company. According to the author, “Gov. Rick Perry has expressed interest in promoting the private space industry in Texas and has met with Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, many times” (Luthra 2012). This implies that there is some hope and a vision in the governor’s eyes that there will be many advantages of allowing the private space companies to relocate to Texas. Another major issue space companies are facing involves the concern of local environmentalist who are “petitioning for Space to abandon its Brownsville plans” as the area they are attempting to build upon is home to rare species (Luthra 2012). Mr. Salinas countered, “SpaceX had a history of complying with environmental regulations and said he believed the company would protect species in the park” (Luthra 2012). Other than this small issue, Texas seems hopeful and inviting of private space companies.  The author ends by asserting that many states are attempting to attract private space companies also as it has a chance to truly boost local economy.

McKelvey, S. (2012). (Still) getting off the ground. Reason, 43(9), 14-14. Retrieved from Proquest Database

In “(Still) Getting Off the Ground,” by Seth McKelvey, the author discusses what role the private sector sill play in space flight. The author starts the article by quoting an earlier article from the same publication Reason written by James C. Bennett. “Bennett imagined a future government finally ending the Space Shuttle program in order to focus on larger issues like "unemployment problems" (McKelvey, 2012). Bennett’s prediction came true in 2011 when the Space Shuttle program was retired. The author also states that if the Space Shuttle program had ended in Reagan’s administration, the private space industry would have been enormous and that space travel would be "’an everyday occurrence’ by the year 2000, with competition encouraging innovation and pulling prices back down to Earth” (McKelvey, 2012). This is the time Americans are in now. Private space companies have emerged to take on the tasks NASA currently cannot do. After the final space shuttle flight in 2011, NASA paid a private space company, Virgin Galactic, $4.5 million to buy cargo space and seats on their suborbital vehicle for three flights. This price is “less than 1 percent of the cost of a single Shuttle launch” (McKelvey, 2012). With private space companies able to get the same task accomplished for such a discounted price, NASA has no choice but to be a customer of these private space companies. Ultimately, according to the author, the role of NASA has changed from the “sole producer and consumer of space transportation to merely one consumer of several” but will continue to act as the gatekeeper (McKelvey, 2012). The author concludes by stating that private space companies have always been in NASA’s shadow due to the space shuttle, but now they have a chance to truly shine.

Redd, N. (2013, January 22). Scientists see big rewards (and risk) in private spaceflight. Retrieved from www.space.com

In “Scientists See Big Rewards (and Risk) in Private Spaceflight,” an online article written by Nola Redd for SPACE.com, the views private space companies’ goals and missions are discussed in comparison to the traditional views of NASA spaceflight. The author first notes that the private space industry is still a growing industry. Virgin Galactic does not even plan to develop new technologies, but rather build upon successful existing technologies. The author then discusses risk associated with the private space industry. The author strongly states, “failure comes in two types — the loss of scientific opportunities and the loss of human life” (Redd, 2013). The loss of scientific opportunities can refer to losing resources and money into unsuccessful projects which is something that a few of these wealthy investors can afford to risk. The loss of human life is an issue that nobody can afford, but to advance the scientific community, the risk must be taken. John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science and a former space shuttle astronaut, is quoted saying that “’the private sector is free to take those risks,’…pointing out that it doesn’t have to deal with government bureaucracy” (Redd, 2013). This is an advantage private space companies have over NASA. Also, since taxpayers are not funding private space companies as they are NASA, private space companies do not face as much criticism or scrutiny. The first manned flight will truly determine the success, or even existence, of privatized spaceflight. A failed mission due to poor planning or preparation is unacceptable, and the public will not respond in a positive manner. If a company fails “because [they] pushed to the frontier,” the public’s reaction cannot be predicted. Overall, the private space industry is one that fits the idea of high risk, high reward product.

Star truck; private space flight. (2012, May 05). The Economist, 403(8783), 14-14. Retrieved from Proquest database

In “Star Truck; Private Space Flight,” an article in The Economist newspaper, the author discusses how he or she foresees the business that will be done by upcoming private space companies. The author first states that a group of rich Americans have already announced that they plan to mine asteroids for precious materials. The author ultimately claims that this venture is not worth it due to the cost. On a more optimistic note, SpaceX, having launched their Dragon capsule to the International Space Station is discussed. The Dragon capsule transferred cargo from Earth to the International Space Station recently and the author views this as a viable business. The author states that private space companies can build vehicles to carry cargo from Earth to the International Space Station; that “acting as [the International Space Station’s grocery van is a valid business” (Star truck; private space flight, 2012). The author also asserts that the vehicles designed by SpaceX are ultimately intended for humans to go into space. With the recent retirement of the space shuttle program by NASA, NASA will want American vehicles to get American astronauts into space and therefore “SpaceX will be handsomely rewarded” (Star truck; private space flight, 2012). SpaceX will essentially sell its product to NASA so NASA can continue sending astronauts into space. The author also discusses the possibility of manned space tourist flights. The author claims it is too early to tell whether it will be viable, but if the demand is ever present, companies such as SpaceX are equipped to take advantage. The author concludes by stating that Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, is still a ways away from his dream of a Martian retirement.

The new space race. (2013, Science Illustrated, 6(1), 32-39. Retrieved from Proquest database

“The New Space Race,” an article featured in Science Illustrated, presents in detail many of the feats in space travel and exploration wished to be accomplished by many visionary billionaires. The article has sidebars, which lists a new horizon to be explored with details on the background. One of the first horizons to be explored is shuttling astronauts, which is the dream of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. His goal is to carry astronauts and cargo on SpaceX rockets to the International Space Station and beyond. Another task is to build a space station. This is the goal of Robert Bigelow of Bigelow Aerospace Company. He wishes to “build residential modules and space bases for tourists, scientists and mining operations” (The new space race, 2013). A private space station will draw in a lot of customers, and ultimately revenue. Another horizon to be explored is to mine on asteroids. This is one of the primary goals of Larry Page who is one of the primary investors behind Planetary Resources. The goal is to use a robotic space vehicle to mine the asteroids for precious materials and useful resources to bring back to Earth. The article poses many strong arguments why mining on asteroids should be done such as the high return in profit and the great amount of minable asteroids. The article goes into much detail on how each of these feats can be accomplished and the current status of them all. The author asserts that even though it seems as if SpaceX is the main and only player in the private space industry, there are many others contributing to the rising market.

Trejos, N. (2012, August 14). A new space race; private companies dive into space transportation. USA Today. Retrieved from www.usatoday.com

In the USA Today article, “A new space race; Private companies dive into space transportation”, written by Nancy Trejos, the author conveys the goals of many private space companies and how they may be an advantage to full government control of space exploration. The author states that due to the fluctuating budget NASA receives each year, advancements in space exploration cannot solely rely on government alone. This is where private space organizations come into play. With the government letting many private space companies do much of the near- orbit work that NASA used to do, competition between the private companies results. All the private space companies will be competing with each other. The author quotes the president of the space policy consulting firm PoliSpace James Muncy asserting that “We're making space more American. We're making space more democratic. We're making space more available, approachable and real to the average American” regarding the rise of all the private space companies (Trejos 2012). With more than just the government dealing with space transportation, it as an open market that characterizes American businesses. The author then proceeds to discuss a few example companies and why they are investing with such high hopes for big return. The author truly implies that the rise of the private space companies is the beginning to a major surge in space exploration.  This article is helpful as it clearly shows the author’s view on the role of private space companies compared to the government’s role on space travel.