How Far and Fast Can the Commercial Space World Grow? 159
coondoggie writes "The development of the commercial space industry has in the past been slow and deliberate, but that seems like it's about to change with a whirlwind of developments that could shape or break its immediate future. Today the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics is holding a hearing to go over the Federal Aviation Administration's 2012 budget request, which includes close to $27 million — nearly a 75% increase over 2010 — in the budget for the group tasked with overseeing commercial space development. They're also evaluating the need for a longer regulatory ban. Also this week the Government Accountability Office issued a review of the issues the commercial space industry and the FAA face (PDF) going forward "
Re:But why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Tourism is a huge demand. You get it down to $10k and I will take a ticket right now. Lots of other folks would be buying at $100k.
Re:But why? (Score:4, Insightful)
The real question is why you don't have enough imagination to figure out reasons why we might want to go up there. We wouldn't have those satellites in orbit at all if people approached things with your attitude. The opportunities always seem obvious in hindsight, but it takes a pioneering spirit to seek new ones out and make them real.
Re:But why? (Score:5, Insightful)
The universe is probably littered with the one-planet graves of cultures which made the sensible economic decision that there's no good reason to go into space--each discovered, studied, and remembered by the ones who made the irrational decision.
I mean -- its not like our space faring civilization will ever just build itself us.
I mean -- It's not like theres ever been another dominant life form that's now utterly extinct due to one or two slightly above average asteroids striking the Earth -- You can be complacent because you're ancestors were not dinosaurs... I suppose you believe Mammals are impervious to extinction events since we're so prevalent and adaptable (tell that to the anaerobic life that was killed off in the great origination catastrophe --- hint: our oxygen levels drop a bit more, we won't be having this discussion, it'll be the anaerobes' turn again).
In short: Life on Earth finally got decent brains! Let's not flippin' waste them due to insignificant BS and artificially important economic issues -- Anything less than advocating space exploration is burying your head in the sand (and ignoring the fossil record found there).
Those that don't know their history are doomed; There is no second chance to repeat it for some species.
Re:What will commercial space companies do? (Score:2, Insightful)
Commercial communication satellites have been very marginal in terms of profit for years. There is a glut of manufacturing capability compared to the demand.
(AC because I work in the industry)
Re:But why? (Score:0, Insightful)
The fact that there's, uh, you know, a DESTINATION? You can GET OFF the airplane? Breathe the air? Have WEATHER? Meet PEOPLE? (I realize this is probably not a selling point for the average Asperger's Space Whackjob though) Eat food that wasn't freeze-dried? Look, do I REALLY need to explain this to you? Have you EVER been anywhere that didn't involve a game console? Jesus Christ!
"After all, if you've spent a couple of hours on Mount Everest or Paris, does that mean you've "shot your wad?""
No one considers Everest "tourism". Even if it is, it's still orders of magnitude easier and cheaper and safer. And guess what? You can WALK. You can't WALK into space. There's no Nepal in space, no sense of walking where others have treaded.
And there are more cities than Paris out there. Again I can't believe I have to explain this to you! Are you twelve!? And you can go to Paris ten times and still not see everything! Once you've floated in a farty, cramped tin can, well, what then? What else can you take pictures of? "Wow, this time I ate the freeze-dried Mac and Cheese and only puked once! Then I pooped into a Ziploc! Only 10000$!!!"
"I imagine that space tourism operators would vary their routines, come up with new trips, build interesting destinations, and do all the other tricks that normal tourism operators employ to create repeat business."
You're delusional. You can make the same arguments for bottom of the ocean tourism... What is the deal with space? When I had a CRT, I didn't have the irrational urge to visit the vacuum inside.... You guys are nuts. Completely irrational and utterly misinformed on the nature of space. It's just not that great. So there's a few millionaires with egos. How does that translate into the fantasy-levels of space technology you think we have?
Re:But why? (Score:3, Insightful)
No, the real question is why buzzword filled drivel like yours gets modded insightful. The OP made a valid point - which you failed to address at all.
Jingoism is no substitute to actual thought.
Hogwash. LEO is a physical place just like Manhattan or Des Moines. We know to a fair degree what physically can or cannot be done there - and how much it costs to get there to do what can be done. The calculations to determine if money can be made from those activities, given the known inputs, are something any first year accounting student can do.
Yet despite all the years the input data has been done, and all the years a lot of people have been thinking about the data... the best we've got is blind jingoism. To any rational person that indicates that there is Problem with a capital 'P'.