Ever since the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space in 1961, mankind has been fascinated with the idea of traveling to other planets and setting up colonies there. But only in recent years have companies like SpaceX had the technology and funding to make this dream of the possibility of turning into reality. Many people wonder why? What makes Space Industry so appealing? The answer can be found by looking at the practical applications of Space Industry and how it could affect society as we know it.
The Selfish Reason
This year, over 2.5 billion people watched a rocket launch into space. What does that mean?
It means there are 2.5 billion new space enthusiasts
Space exploration is not just about finding an alien life, in fact there’s money to be made up there. Space mining will be a multiplanetary industry, and investors want in on that profit. Money and technology make things happen. It’s not just about trips around space, though—the Space Industry has a lot of intrinsic value. This is the reason why Space Industry has boomed.
As of now, SpaceX owns 90% of Space Shuttle launches and 5% of satellites launched worldwide, Blue Origin owns 10% of Outer Space and Virgin Galactic owned 45% of space tourism (although they need to step their game up). Who would’ve thought? Space Industry executives already know about outer space products in 2025 and 2025-2030 or any time after that including: laser communication for Mars interplanetary war games which will be used for evil by 2030.
The Emotional Reason
The second reason people are going multiplanetary (the launching of more than one spaceflight per year) is emotional. Ever since Carl Sagan’s cosmic-philosophy series Cosmos changed television viewing forever, most people have dreamed of seeing Earth from space or even going to Mars themselves. Or they want to find aliens, see a solar eclipse or create a Jurassic Park on another planet. But only few actually gets to witness these magical things with their own eyes.
That is why multiplanetary is so popular and rapidly growing, because it gives people hope that we might not be alone in the universe and enables us to bring amazing adventures and knowledge back home with us. There are several companies working hard every day so everyone can get these once in a lifetime opportunities and change everything that you know about life on earth today.
The Financial Reason
There’s a lot of money in space, and we’re just beginning to understand its true value. The value of what we can see in space right now may come close to a trillion dollars. You could think of it as $100 billion per year — that’s how much companies will pay over the next few decades for rights and resources in space. This entire market had been almost unknown until President Obama set his sights on NASA with directive in 2010 to send humans beyond low Earth orbit. And, since then venture capitalists began targeting and investing up their own way. Several companies were built such as Planetary Resources Inc., which aims to mine asteroids rich in precious metals and water. SpaceX wants to colonize Mars; others are looking at moons of Jupiter or even setting up floating cities around our planet.
Although we have no idea what’s going on up there yet, we can assume it’s one gigantic corporate monopoly because if anything in capitalism works, it’s monopolies.
The Practical Reason
A major threat to our planet is global warming. To slow down its course, we need more CO2 and other gases that trap heat in orbit. For example, there are minerals on Mars and in asteroids which can be used for such purposes. In addition, research in space helps us improve our technologies and creates many new innovations including multiplanetary aircrafts, space elevators etc. All of these cause expansion of space industry throughout the world and everyone who invests into it will receive a great return of investment.
The Compelling Story
Did you know that one out of every four satellites orbiting Earth is owned by a private company? And did you know that in 2020, more than 600 private satellite launches took place worldwide? This is what’s referred to as a boom, and according to TechCrunch, it’s happening all over—from space start-ups like SpaceX to service providers such as satellite communications specialist, Iridium Communications.
The traditional thinking was that private companies wouldn’t be interested in space because of high costs, but there are major shifts taking place now with organizations becoming more flexible and creative about providing new services for customers. For example, if a company wants to fly its own constellation of hundreds or thousands of small “sats” rather than rely on something bigger (like Iridium), they can do so by launching tiny “cubesats” without having to develop their own booster rocket at first.
Final Thoughts
We are entering an era of multiplanetary, where for various reasons, most people will live in space. As Elon Musk explains it, eventually [it] will seem silly to not live on Mars. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he talks about his belief that humans have a responsibility to reach out into space and save humanity from itself by creating a backup planet. He told reporter Neil Strauss that we might be able to create colonies on other planets as early as 30 years from now.
For example, if there’s a nuclear holocaust or some global catastrophe—which could absolutely happen—we need to be prepared. It’s quite possible that within 50-100 years there’ll be another Dark Ages brought on by some catastrophe that again causes a significant reduction in human population; you know, like bubonic plague. If we do become a multiplanet species, then there’s a future for humanity. If we don’t explore and go beyond our little blue marble here, then we really don’t see any long-term future for humanity.
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