Picture how different your life would be if commercial air travel didn't exist -- and imagine the millions of jobs that would vanish. Fortunately, commercial passenger aviation does exist and it exists because the U.S. government in the 1920s wisely decided to begin flying "air mail" on commercial airplanes, accelerating the growth of the entire passenger airline industry. President Obama's bold, new plan for NASA, announced earlier this month, makes an equally wise decision by promoting the growth of commercial spaceflight. This is a win-win decision; creating thousands of new high-tech jobs and helping America retain its leadership role in science and technology.
President Obama's decision to invest in this growing industry comes at a perfect time. Entrepreneurial companies like Virgin Galactic, Scaled Composites, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Space Systems, Masten Space Systems, Armadillo Aerospace, XCOR Aerospace, and Blue Origin are investing their own money, right now, to create new jobs across the nation, including my home state of New Mexico, as they roll out innovative space vehicles. Even the larger, more traditional firms that build launch vehicles for government satellite missions are throwing their hat into the ring to launch new commercial space activities. Commercial spaceflight represents the type of dynamic innovation that we need to create 21st century jobs. Indeed, commercial space companies are one of the few industries that have continued to hire people during the recession.
Our modern economy depends on space -- it is woven into our social fabric, from bank transactions and weather forecasts that depend on satellite signals, to GPS and the latest overhead images by commercial spacecraft that will help us rebuild Haiti. America's commercial space industry can bring private investment to the table and enable government dollars to go much further in meeting our goals. Our nation's military already benefits from the use of commercial communications and remote sensing satellites, and trusts the commercial sector to launch critical military satellites on rockets designed and built commercially. Now NASA is poised to follow in the same direction by placing an emphasis on commercial space.
In New Mexico, our support for commercial spaceflight is already reaping benefits. About 500 New Mexicans are now on the job, creating the first commercial spaceport in the world. Another 300 new jobs are expected this year. The spaceport is fulfilling its promise of inspiring young people to study math and science and developing our statewide economy. Our anchor tenant, Virgin Galactic, recently unveiled its completed, environmentally friendly spacecraft, and has over forty two million dollars deposited in reservations. The demand is there, and New Mexico will get its return on investment.
Americans will get their return on investment, too. The excitement of commercial spaceflight is already inspiring kids to pursue careers in science and technology, something our nation desperately needs to remain competitive with emerging powers like China.
Commercial space also offers an opportunity as Congress ponders how to create more jobs and cut the budget deficit. First, by partnering further with commercial industry; NASA can invest its limited tax dollars in new jobs and entire new industries. By lowering the price and increasing the frequency of human access to space, NASA astronauts, private explorers, and scientific ventures help strengthen the space economy. Second, it's vital that our space program be frugal while simultaneously producing more benefits for the American people. Commercial space will create immediate jobs, reduce costs, and allow NASA to do more with less. The government and private sector can work collaboratively to accelerate technology and innovation in space that will create a better tomorrow for all mankind.
We have no time to waste -- in a few months the aging Space Shuttle will fly its final mission and America will be without a space vehicle for the first time in over three decades. I am pleased that President Obama and NASA chief Charlie Bolden have decided to promote commercial spaceflight -- let's get to work building this growing industry! The Wright Brothers would be proud.
Bill Richardson is the governor of the state of New Mexico.
Buzz Aldrin: Why We Should Keep Flying the Space Shuttle
Anyway, NASA can take a giant leap forward if it would just come clean. October 9, 009 bombing of Clavius to hail a much-too-clever ETI. See www.etigrail.com What else could they do, I suppose.
Our space industry will be done by China. It doesn't matter to our business or political leaders that a lot of that industry is critical to our military. In 2004 Congress, lobbied by business and the Pentagon voted down a Bill to "buy American' in weapons procurement. The Bill would have required that 65 percent of the weapon be built in the United States.
First we create decent human circumstances here oh earth, so that we can efford it.
Second, the Governor tells us what it is, besides electromgnetic waves and elementary particles, that he is expecting to bring to the earth from space, that will contribute to better human conditions for the long term.
The comments in response to this blog amaze me. We have brilliant, concrete examples of the advancements that the space program has given to all of us, in every facet of our lives.
And at the same time, we have the same old naysayers spouting the worn out statement, "We have enough problems here on earth," yada, yada, yada.
How long will it take until people get it? Take away our visionary quest to explore space, and you take away not only the advancements in technology that helps all of us, but you also take away inspiration, motivation, and imagination.
However, Pres. Obama's plan would inexplicably cut off something essential. While commercial space is bolstered, the destruction of a now long time, written goal is devastating. The goal of the Moon, where the most world-inspiring acheivement of America ocurred in the form of Project Apollo, a towering part of our heritage.
The President's plan leads to destroying icons like the Kennedy & Houston space centers. With China sending a heavy lander, rover, and lunar sample return mission soon, only our solid national goal to gradually reclaim our stake in the world's quest for the Moon can match the unified, huge boost to our schools & universities that Apollo gave us.
Fragmented commercial companies can't do that. Even Burt Rutan has problems with the President's proposal to destroy ambitious NASA human spaceflight until 2030. New Mexico was working hard on Orion as well.
With NASA taking less than 1% of the federal budget & a gradual lunar return taking a small part, with other nations aiming for the moon, we need to commend Obama's support for commercial space but stop the President's proposal to destroy the Vision for Space Exploration.
We need to echo JFK's strong & clear declaration, "we choose..the Moon!", and receive the massive boost to our declining youth, our universities, and our world inspiration & leadership that can only come with
It's been said that the craft would die with that generation if we ever gave up on Space, and it's probably true. As a kid in the Seventies, trailing along behind my G Uncle I saw it all in the back of Johnson Space Center. I touched that first Apollo capsule that burned ( wasn't supposed to!) and saw the sewing rooms where spacesuits were made. I sew, very seriously, and looking back you don't get that from books. You learn these crafts hands on under a master at them. Can you even conceive of how to make a space suit? I can't.
We need to keep that alive. If the currant generation of Space skilled people die off who will make space suits? Who will know how to build the ships? It's extremely specialized work.
There community colleges actually offer associate degrees in Alternative Energy especially Wind Energy and any of number of other factors. Yes, times are hard, and they will be for sometime ahead. As fast as we are destroying the Earth, at least with programs like this we might have another home in the near future.
Lets focus on energy, battery technology, solar. Most of the money in NASA was no longer spent on innovation, just toys to put in space.
Or the Shuttles? Seems to me the Shuttles did a number of things; Showed up the Soviets in the last of the Cold War, captured the National imagination, and did more obviously useful stuff too. Like commercial applications.
Since the last guy was so busy ranting about Gog and Magog at other Presidents and refused to do this stuff the guy in now has to. Even with the last guys appaling deficit.
The lunar module landing computer was an amazing piece of technology. It was one of the first attempts anyone had ever made at trying to miniaturize computer technology, and before that all other attempts at portable computers were meant for warfare (bombers and ships and missiles, etc). It was one of the first demonstrations of the need for portable computing power. Today even the poorest Americans can easily afford cell phones with thousands of times more computing power and they can make phone calls from anywhere which in itself was science fiction 40 years ago.
Many of the breakthroughs made in the 60's trying to get to the moon we're now enjoying today in the form of our high tech standard of living.
You know, stuff like famine, climate change, disease, war, poverty.
Our NASA program was an important part of American History.
It was something to proud of...now like Healthcare we will make it
commerical...for PROFIT...that alone will cause corruption
an enable more corrupt behavior...be it military (Countries able to access our data...satelittes etc)
It was this move that made my 9 y/o decide he now dislikes Prez Obama...He was one of the few that waited for take offs and landings (online) and was very excited what the space station meant
to our country and the relationships with other countries.
Making this commercial just leveled it...and now produced a new competiton that will not be healthy for us in a Military Sense. It will cost too much to do a "Do Over"
Personally I think this should be reconsidered.
Inventive young adults will throw themselves into space-related technologies with the same glee that motivated tens of thousands to try their hands at becoming the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Tossing around words like "corrupt" when speaking of for-profit ventures strikes me, at best, as uninformed. Look around at all that the computer industry has created. Most of what you see was produced with profit in mind.
We need to unleash the next generation and let it tackle space the way that my generation tackled digital information -- and let the possibility of profit motivate them as well.
I will give you that whether a super duper vertical bungee jump facility in Las Cruces NM is going to help is debatable.