You Want the Economic Impact?! You Can't Handle the Economic Impact!

This is a must read! Yes, it's from 1992, and there should be another study like this done today, but the data in here is astounding!

Many people ask about the benefits of the space industry in these hard economic times, and far too many subscribe to the ludicrous argument that we should spend money on Earth rather than on space. It's a false argument, because it's not like we're launching cash and having it orbit the planet serving no use. The money is spent here, at companies on Earth (in America), that employ great people with diverse educational backgrounds, to create systems that operate in space. The location of use isn't Earth, but the foundations ARE from Earth.

From the small electronics manufacturer in Illinois to the big Boeing corporation, there are more pieces to the space industry puzzle than many people realize. Special thanks for Marcel (blog viewer and contributor) for bringing this to my attention.

Read this and understand...

(click each image to expand)

Quantum Propulsion Machine - Popsci Article

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-12/quantum-propulsion-machine

Well, this is just plain cool. I love the fact that it's pretty easy to test the theory. So rare that the studies of Quantum Mechanics can be put to an actual test. Far too much of it is mathematical masturbation with very little chance of being turned into a practical device. This, however, might actually turn into something significant. But as the article insinuates, let's not get to far ahead of ourselves. :)

SpaceShipTwo Unveiling and the NewSpace Movement

I guess I should comment on Virgin Galactic's reveal of SpaceShipTwo. I figured it would be pretty obvious to anyone who follows this blog that I'm ecstatic about the event. I do find it interesting, however, the number of people who poo-poo something like this because it's "just a sub-orbital roller coaster".

Well, last I checked, no private company was doing this at all, so don't you think any step up is a good step? What, do you want a company to instantly come out with gravity driven spaceships and simply glide us into the cosmos? Wake up. The NewSpace movement is only NOW finally gaining momentum and, albeit small, some respect.

With SpaceX having success with Falcon 1 and getting ready to demonstrate Falcon 9, Scaled Composites winning the Ansari X-Prize and Masten winning the Northrup Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, Virgin Galactic falls in line with a series of NewSpace companies that are showing what they're made of, and it's good stuff! Just look at what's been accomplished thus far based ONLY on the dollars spent. It's amazing the accomplishments that have been achieved on such limited resources.

And remember this, Virgin Galactic is but one of several NewSpace companies poised to help propel us to the next level. Currently on PopularScience.com they have a story ranking the top 15 NewSpace companies in order of their progress toward the goal of bringing cargo and human passengers to space. 15 companies! Here they are in order of ranking:

Virgin Galactic
SpaceX
Orbital Sciences
Scaled Composites
Masten Space Systems
Armadillo Aerospace
Planetary Society
Bigelow Aerospace
XCOR Aerospace
Blue Origin
Ad Astra Rocket Co.
Interorbital Systems
ARCA
Da Vinci Project/The Dreamspace Group
Space Adventures

Did you know there were that many? Do you know what they're doing? Virgin, Masten, Armadillo and SpaceX seem to top the media highlights, but as you can see there are more players in the game than just those few, and who knows how many others are out there working hard for the NewSpace Movement, but just haven't been recognized yet (which could be on purpose, who knows).

Now if the American government, and governments around the world, would embrace NewSpace as a partner and not a competitor, I firmly believe we'd see even greater things accomplished, not only for the commercialization of space, but also for the potential of government space agencies to focus on much more challenging and rewarding missions and advancements. It's a win win scenario. It's our job to drive that message home, to force our hand and to ensure that our future is not wrapped up in Committee Meetings, but that it is allowed to unfold as we all know it should.

My Letter to the White House

I am sending this every day, maybe even a few times a day, until I get a solid reply and not some generic automated reply. :) If you wish to use this email and reference me as the author, go right ahead. The more people we have to hammer this message to the White House, the better the odds of its implementation, and the success of our future. I am more than willing to be the front man on this endeavor.
______________________________

Greetings,

I will send this email every day until I get a reply that it's been received and reviewed. I am not trying to be rude, but heard and recognized. I offer a serious solution that must be considered.

For many of our concerns today there is one strong solution. Not every problem requires a special unique solution. Sometimes, you can hit several flies with just one swat.

What we have right now is a lack of focus on long term production. The shovel ready projects (bridges and roads) that were the core of the Stimulus Package are very short term jobs and limited in scope and scale. What we need is a larger full scale project, or projects, that employ hundreds of thousands of people over the course of decades, but which also serves a purpose for the future of this nation and our growth as a society.

Public/Private Space Exploration and Development serves this purpose. To stay within the 2,500 character limit, I’ll omit details, but I do have them. In short, what is needed are lofty, high value, audacious goals the whole nation can benefit from, like a Moon Base, an asteroid mission to review prospects for mining resources and a project to help private industry develop Space Based Solar Power concepts, the ultimate in green energy.

This approach doesn’t necessarily require large govt. spending. The govt. made loans to the Union and Central Pacific RR's to build the Intercontinental Railroad, so why can't we do the same today to build a space infrastructure between the Moon and the Earth? The government can actually make money on the projects.

What issues can this course of action help solve? The Economy, Employment, Education, Energy and International Relations.

This is a real solution with unlimited potential. It would also put America back in the drivers seat as the worlds leader in taking on amazing challenges, but challenges that offer a better life for everyone in the world. How would you feel being the President who started this and made America become a space faring nation? I would be honored to go into further detail if you're interested Mr. President. You have my email.

Regards,

Douglas Mallette
Space Shuttle Systems Engineer
Space Advocacy Speaker
Author: Turning Point
Email: mallette.doug@gmail.com

Hey Washington D.C. Jobs Summit: I Have Your Answer Right Here!

I have to think that whatever they come up with during this jobs summit, if anything at all, it will not be focused on long term job creation, but short term quick fixes. This is depressing, because it's painfully obvious that what we need is a long term focus, a strong solution that covers years of job sustainability, and NOT just government jobs, but private sector jobs.

What we have is a lack of focus on long term production. These shovel ready projects (bridges and roads) that were the core of the Stimulus Package are very short term jobs and limited in scope and scale. What we need is a larger full scale project, or projects, that employ hundreds of thousands...if not millions. A Moon Base sounds like a good project to spur innovation and get our kids excited, and add to it a nice asteroid mission to mine resources and a serious project to help private industry develop Space Based Solar Power concepts. These are things that will take 20+ years to accomplish...LONG TERM!

Like Kennedy did in the 60's, but for reasons of challenging Russia, the current or next Administration should once again use space as a rallying point. This time, as a means for creating jobs, not just engineers and scientists either, but a whole host of jobs that would be directly and indirectly related to the endeavor. For every 1 person directly related to the project(s) making an average of $80,000 a year, you'll end up also creating another 1 or 2 jobs based on the fact that that person now has the kind of income to buy a house, car, clothes, eat out...basically spend money. Hello retail sector.

And more than 50% of this should be handled by private industry, not NASA and the government. NASA has a role, but to create long term jobs you must have the private sector carry the lion share of the work, use the grants and loans for technological development, and grow the Commercial Space Industry so that it becomes a self sustaining force for space travel and space based development. The government could even make money on this like they did when they worked with the railroad industry to build the Intercontinental Railroad.

This would also spur technological growth in a whole host of sectors, because as all space advocates know, developing space technologies ends up also developing technologies in unrelated sectors. Who knows what crazy advancements would be made in the medical, transportation and even clothing sectors. History has proven this, so why not embrace it?

This is a common sense, no-brainer solution to one hell of a problem...series of problems! Bring in other nations to join us in the grand project, thereby fortifying our peaceful cooperation relationships. Kids seeing real movement in the space industry beyond 2 or 3 launches a year will get them excited to get into Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), especially if they genuinely feel they can go into space themselves to do work.

Mr. President, the time is now. The solution is obvious. Let's go!