Back in 2009, the Obama administration voiced the desire to move the space flight industry to the private sector. NASA would still exist as a research institution and developer of technologies, but private firms would be tasked with transporting people and cargo during orbital missions. The plan was announced much to the chagrin of conservatives, a few business analysts and the circle of techies and astronomy enthusiasts I hung out with in high school.
I admit, at first glance I wasn’t so keen on the idea myself, but thinking about it in a practical sense softens the pangs of doubt. NASA has been an excellent starting point for space exploration, conducting groundbreaking studies and coming up with some of the most progressive means to improve technology — in space flight and countless other areas. But the truth is that NASA is only the starting point. Space flight and exploration will never take off like it should if the work is limited to one government entity that is ever strapped for cash.
NASA is funded primarily by taxpayer money, which at this point in the game is entirely nonsensical. The vast majority of the American public has no practical interest in space exploration, so why must they devote their money to something that really will not conceivably benefit them in any direct way? The truth is that space flight has no direct effect on most people. Those opposed to the universal healthcare bill take their stance because they rightly feel they should never have to pay into something that is, for all of their personal intents and purposes, erroneous and arbitrary. For space exploration, the same principle applies.
Taxpayer money just isn’t secure enough to guarantee the health and longevity of space agencies. It’s a hard truth that any large undertaking, such as space exploration, can only flourish when something as nominal as funding is not an issue. Private firms, headed by savvy and capable business leaders, will be able to make space flight profitable in ways NASA cannot. Space flight will become a stable and viable industry, and therefore research and space exploration will progress faster than it would in the hands of one government entity. Granting private corporations the opportunity to continue down the path NASA has carved and pursue new opportunities of development will make space flight a more secure undertaking.
It’s not as if privatizing space flight will suddenly allow conniving rocket tycoons to monopolize scientific exploration. Some of the most brilliant people in their fields work in private industry. Companies like SpaceX employ intelligent individuals, with the same degrees as NASA engineers, who know what they’re doing in designing rockets and planning missions. One of the most optimistic outcomes of privatizing space flight is that rocket engineers will finally earn salaries befitting their education level and performance.
Biomedical engineering, a pure science in and of itself, is rife with the economic competition that people fear will overtake space flight as companies try to beat each other at coming up with the most cutting-edge designs and technologies. But it’s not such a corrupt and slanted contest as people seem to think. Rivalry creates progress (as was evident during the Cold War space race when the US feverishly worked to beat the Soviets), and research-based companies have always generated excellent output when performing in competition with each other.
The fear of privatizing space flight seems to stem from the notion that endeavors in space will become strictly business, and the focus will no longer be on pure research. While, for a time and extent, that will be true, the bottom line is that private companies will make space more accessible for those looking to better understand it. The government did not win the west, it was private individuals who went to settle it and make it hospitable to the world at large. The same will go for the final frontier.
