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Now, as in the Future, Space Drives Economic Growth

The Columbia shuttle disaster of last week has once again ignited a debate over the rationale behind the space program. Why, critics ask, are we spending billions of dollars to send man and machine into space?

The answer is not really that complicated:. we will continue to expand the space program because future economic growth depends on it. The space mission has been a key driver of the tremendous expansion of the US and global economy over the last several decades, and there is every reason to think that space will continue to play this dynamic role in future.

Let us remember that the space program includes the hundreds of satellites encircling the earth. These satellites carry the signals that make viable our global communications matrix, which includes cell phones, wi-fi, the Internet, satellite radio and television, and other communications technologies. This global communications network spawned by the space satellite network has boosted international trade several-fold, facilitated the creation of multinational corporations producing goods and services unimaginable only a few decades ago, and enhanced our ability to move at lightning speeds investment capital to needed projects anywhere in the world.  No satellites, no modern global economy!

In addition, the space program’s many technological spin-offs have helped create new products and whole new industries. Our scientific work on the space programs has produced CAT scans, the MRI, water filters, cordless tools, smoke detectors, sunglasses that block out ultraviolet light, as well as the laser used in heart bypass and angioplasty surgery.

As impressive as the economic, scientific, and social benefits of our space endeavors have been so far, they pale by comparison to what we can expect in the future.  Coming ventures in space will enable us to exponentially expand our energy supply, provide us the technology to travel at lightning speeds on earth, and allow us to tap into an untold wealth of raw materials and precious metals awaiting us in space. In the process, we will become a truly spacefaring species, establishing bases and eventually colonies on the Moon,  Mars, and beyond.  Here are just a few ways space will help grow our future economy

Solving Our Energy Problems  -  Some geologists have suggested mining the moon for helium-3, rare on earth but abundant on the moon, which could be used in nuclear fusion technology on Earth. While we’re at it, we can ring the Earth with Solar Powered Satellites, huge fixtures which collect sunlight 24/7, all year long, convert it to energy which is beam down as microwaves to power plants on earth. SPSs could generate enough electricity to power entire cities. Incidentally, the SPS project might lead to our establishing the first permanent Moon base, since it is far easier to launch SPS repair crew from the low-gravity Moon rather than from Earth.

Improving Our Transportation Systems – In 1968 it took 5-6 hours to fly from NY. to LA, 14 hours or so to reach Tokyo.  In 2003, these flights take the same amount of time. There has been much talk of a “hypersonic plane” that could take off from NY, go into orbit, reenter the Earth’s atmosphere over Japan, and touch down in a Tokyo airport. Total time of flight: about an hour and a half. A few years ago it was  hoped that the next proposed versions of the shuttle, such as the since-cancelled Venturestar and the forthcoming Orbital Space Plane, would also serve as the prototype for a hypersonic plane for travel on Earth. Imagine how the ability to travel at such speeds would increase international trade and tourism,  and thereby boost global economic growth.

Expanding Our Resource Base by Mining the Universe –  The industries that fuel global economic growth depend on a ready supply of natural resources, including metals and minerals. Soon some company or country is going to send a crew to an asteroid or to Mars for the express purpose of  extracting that sphere’s resources and shipping them back to Earth. There’s gold in them there orbs, especially the asteroids located throughout  the solar system and which pass the Earth as close as the Moon. One particular asteroid, rich in platinum, would be worth around 5 trillion dollars, according to one estimate. Another asteroid  has more steel in it than all the iron on Earth. Once one company or country begins mining an asteroid’s mother lode of palladium, nickel, and steel, a space-age gold rush will ensue. One such company, SpaceDev, has bluntly stated that it intends to not only land a robotic explorer on such an asteroid—they will also claim exclusive mining rights to that sphere.

Certainly, we should be concerned about the costs involved in exploring space. Much of the cost has been borne by taxpayers, not industry. However, as space becomes a site for commercial ventures, increasingly the funding for space exploration and colonization will be footed by private enterprise. Moreover, we already know that individuals such as Mr. Tito are willing to contribute multi-millions to the space program just to spend a week in space.

Currently we are allotting a little over 1% of our Federal budget for the space mission, far less than the 4-5% of  U.S. annual budgets the American people were willing to spend to put a man on the Moon in the 1960s. In real terms NASA's budget is 40% smaller than it was just a decade ago,  when adjusted for inflation.

To achieve the goals mentioned above, we’re going to have to spend more. It’s probably the best investment our nation will ever make.