For those of you who are unaware, NASA is still alive and kicking. NASA was NOT shut down like many people may have been lead to believe. A lot of the NASA shut down talk was just media hype, or just an all out misunderstanding. They simply retired their old Space Shuttle fleet which was in use for over 30 years. In our current technology environment, something as simple as a cell phone can become obsolete in a mere year or two. So just imagine how outdated some of the technology was on the 30 year old Space Shuttle.
Although NASA routinely updated the Shuttles to ensure safety, some of the fundamental components of the Shuttles were not ready for some of NASA's up and coming missions. The shuttle was great for sending something into orbit because it had a relatively large space for satellites. When it finish its mission, the Shuttle would just turn around and glide back to Earth. That was ideal at the time, but the Shuttle is too bulky and underpowered to reach a location like Mars with ease. The glider shape of the Shuttles has no significant use when landing on the Moon or Mars where the atmosphere is different or almost nonexistent. So to take on manned missions to the Moon, Mars and nearby asteroids, NASA has begun production of their new Crew Exploration Vehicle called Orion. Orion is not an idea or blueprint to be done some time in he future; Orion is currently in production. Orion is being built as you read this blog and should be ready for its first launch into space in two or three years at most.
In the meantime, some may wonder what is going to happen to the ISS if the Shuttles are retired. This is where the private sector comes in. Companies like Space X will soon inherit some of the less glorious tasks that the Shuttle use to do, like resupplying the ISS. This privatization of space is a great leap for human exploration because it will make space profitable. These companies will begin making money off of government and private contracts to go into space, complete a job, and return safely. The benefit of having space companies focus on profit is that profit causes maximum efficiency. The private companies will work their tales off to make going into space cost effective. This will lead to more people going into space and a direct need for off-Earth colonies. This is compared the current airliner industry. Building plans use to be the job of the government. Once the government encouraged the private sector to take over, they made flying efficient and safe which lead to where we are now.
With companies like Space X taking care of the petty tasks like resupplying, NASA can focus on breaking the barriers of space and go where no man has gone before.
I thought NASA retires their old space shuttle flee because the government could not fund space missions. Besides that, what other jobs will private companies such as Space X do in space besides resupplying the ISS?
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ReplyDeleteThe funding thing is partially true. The bad economy was a good time to cut a little bit of funding so that it could be redirected elsewhere. In the meantime, NASA could focus on Orion. The fleet was not retired because of budget concerns, it was to make room for the next big thing, Orion. Although, creating a new spaceship from scratch isn't exactly cheap, as it rightfully shouldn't be for maximum quality. NASA's budget for 2012 is $17.8 billion, which is a $684 million less than 2011. $1.8 billion of that budget is specifically for Orion. The rest is for other various research projects and missions that I can not name off the top of my head.
ReplyDeleteSome other jobs that private companies will do include things like harvesting debris orbiting the Earth. Debris can potentially destroy any satellite because of the high speeds that they can posses. They will also be the main source of transporting new satellites in orbit. They will take part in the construction and management of any future stations or bases and possibly build their own. The potential of a company that can go into space is limitless. For all we know they could launch a huge campaign to mine nearby asteroids for gold and become unimaginably rich.
Wow Thanks Austin! That question was really bothering me for a long time and I never really took the time to find the answer. Then does that mean that these private companies could actually provide jobs to the countless numbers of individuals who are seeking employment? I would think that a project as big as creating Orion would help engineers, scientists, engineers, and IT Specialists who maybe seeking employment?
ReplyDeleteOrion has already put a lot of people to work, and the private companies are currently seeking a lot of employees. I checked Space X's website a while back and they had a huge page full of job openings. In addition, they will need to expand as their companies grow which will provide even more jobs.
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