Private Investment in Space Exploration

In the latter part of the 20th Century, the United States established itself as a space faring nation and leader of the movement to reach beyond the bonds of terra-firma. Encouragement of private investment in space exploration to facilitate the growth of a U.S. commercial space sector is recommended to assure technological progress and continue to secure the Nation's space exploration prowess. This change would result in the following conditions; support of national imperatives, enhancement of global competition, and advances U.S. leadership in the generation of new markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. A robust and competitive commercial space sector is vital to continued progress in space.

Investment in space is essential to continuing as a great power in the next century. Investment in space is ensuring physical security of the homeland. Investment in space provides for the general welfare of humankind in the sense of peaceful use of space for all nations, not just the United States. The business of America is business and so peaceful use of space means enabling commerce to create opportunities in all industries such as science, education, medicine, communication and the military.

The availability of space access is the basis of international space and technology leadership. This may be the last physical domain that requires hard science and exploration. Further, it is a domain that is used to facilitate support of modern life such as weather monitoring, geophysical investigations, global topographical mapping, or global social monitoring. Additionally, Global Warming investigation or energy research and management without an investment in space would not be possible. Investment in space is the foundation of a robust industrial base and the basis of a technical workforce which will be essential to success in the next century. As a result of work and innovation in space the economy will get a boost due to more job opportunities. Space is the job creator for the nation.

With the support of commercial space efforts, the United States could extend our culture and the rule of law into the solar system, thereby taking the leadership role in the military, exploration and industry domains. Space needs to become a national priority and assigning commensurate resources is an urgently compelling priority. The United States needs to be a leader in this investment.

Securing the space domain means working with our friends and allies and other space-faring entities. Leadership in international forums and partnerships with our allies and other multinational organizations like NATO is critical. The FCC, Departments of Defense, Transportation, Commerce and State must be integral participants in securing the space domain to support national and international imperatives.

Focused scientific research is needed to stimulate the imagination of children and adults around the world, and to enable a robust scientific technology workforce. New institutes for commercial development for U.S. and international space law and policy need to be created. Focus should be on human spaceflight, medicine, long-duration space habitats, communication, propulsion, earth to orbit transportation, etc. Support of the U.S. space industrial base by funding space programs and enabling private planetary exploration, space tourism and other, more creative commercial enterprise is a must.

A major step is situational awareness. Situational awareness means knowing where all resources (and global adversaries) are all the time. Without the appropriate situational awareness afforded through the use of space borne assets, both military, global infrastructure planning, international search and rescue services are disadvantaged. All the world is a front in the War on Terror, all the world must be watched, all the time. Every neighborhood is a theater in the war on terror. Currently, the development and supply of airborne technology to provide intelligence is rendered by commercial organizations. The modern American way of war would be rendered impracticable without space technology and exploration. Everything from nuclear operations and the maintenance of the American nuclear deterrence right through to operations going on in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere is dependant on space to one extent or another.

Cleanup operations that happen in the wake of natural disasters and humanitarian operations are all dependent on space. Diplomacy can become more nimble and reactive to world events. The conducting of business transactions would be more efficient which leads to economic growth. Without access to satellites, supply and distribution would revert to more expensive and less efficient practices affecting services like just-in-time logistics, UPS, FedEx. This would impact the military and civilian logistic support.

Management of modern transportation, such as sea and air traffic, becomes problematic because GPS would be affected or nonexistent if we do not have access to space, with a decrease in volume and restriction of movement. Choosing not to invest in space would make the United States more vulnerable to those who have active programs and funding. Transportation and logistical communication infrastructures are all built around space-enabled services and represent incredible amounts of money investments. The U.S. preference for rapid, decisive military force projection involving minimal friendly casualties and collateral damage becomes more difficult. Space dominance is essential if the U.S. is to be a great power and continue to be a great power. Space power in all forms, commercial, civil, military, diplomatic, provides bargaining power for our politicians in the conduct of U.S. foreign and defense policy. Not investing in exploration lessens that flexibility.

Survival without space is possible, war can be conducted without space, but do we want to? This would come at a great cost to us and to whatever adversary comes to these shores. To maintain global power around the world, space power is essential because it makes the cost of war more acceptable.

Survival without space is possible, transporting products, performing business transactions, navigation without GPS, predicting weather can all be done without space, but do we really want to? Every facet of our lives is vulnerable if the United States is not the forerunner in space.

There are many advantages to pursuing commercialization of space. Commercialization of space would open up the space environment for research of better materials and operational