Future of space program 2011

Whether or not it manifests itself as a full-blown "race to Mars" or "rush to the Moon" or "trip to mine an asteroid" remains to be seen. There are many difficult tasks to accomplish before humans are routinely jetting off to the Moon or Mars. Nations and governments need to evaluate their long-term commitment to space exploration.

The technological advancements to deliver humans to these places are taking place, as are the tests on humans to see if they really CAN withstand the rigors of long space flights to alien environments and safely live in a more dangerous environment than Earth. It now remains for the social and political spheres to come to terms with humans as a space-faring species.

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List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Carolyn Collins Petersen. Yet as the future of American space travel seemed doubtful, a new alternative seemed to emerge, one that would ultimately encompass the ingenuity of private enterprise and restart a struggling local economy.

Five years later in , the company set history once again in when it successfully took off and landed a reusable rocket. Shortly after SpaceX began its space venture in early , other companies soon followed. Close by, OneWeb, a satellite company with plans to provide Internet service worldwide delivered from space, also began expanding its operations.

In , two startup rocket companies, Firefly and Relativity, announced deals to refurbish and restructure launch pads that had laid dormant for years. Furthermore, these companies joined larger, private defenseindustry companies such as Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and L3 Harris Technologies, which had partnered with the federal government for years. In total, the arrival of major private space companies infused a mixture of capital investment, job creation, and industry diversification into a struggling economy.

These economics advancements in the private space industry spilled over into other sectors of the local economy, such as real estate, retail, and hospitality. Augustine Record. Published Jul 15, Communication improvements would be needed to enable astronauts to report back to Earth without quality issues. Another necessary development is resource utilization, such as mining for ore. As noted by Cooke, another obstacle to the future of human spaceflight to Mars is the implementation of a craft that can both support deep-space habitation and efficient travel.

Advancements in robotic technology would also give astronauts on Mars an advantage by providing assistance with physical tasks, such as drilling. There are also safety concerns that need to be taken into consideration. New landing systems and radiation precautions would be needed to safely send and return astronauts to and from Mars. The future of human spaceflight is an exciting prospect full of both possibility and danger.

The future of the ISS is clearly finite but when exactly it ends is unclear. Mir was poorly maintained due to Russian economic issues, but its demise occurred because Russia could not participate in the ISS and still sustain the Mir. Mir left orbit in , still useful but no long viable given limited resources.

The ISS is the Mir of this generation, possibly becoming obsolete but still functional for most purposes. The CSS also has a finite lifespan, but no one currently knows what that means. China will have to decide when that time comes and what is to replace it. For human space exploration and exploitation of outer space to be truly globally productive requires maximum effort.

Space stations are few and far between, so discarding one prematurely is unlikely to advance the general enterprise. China and the United States are presently competing with each other but the infrastructure both are building, separately or in association with others, must be employed for the pursuit of peaceful exploration and exploitation of outer space. Such an approach opens outer space throughout the global community by the providing the first step to everywhere in outer space.

To this point, space had been conceptualized in terms of missions rather than functions. Therefore, the US goes the Moon or Mars in a series of distinct missions rather than making space access and habitation a routine and continuing process. Through the latter, others now earthbound will be able to join the great quest of space exploration and exploitation. One must remember that the latter of those two activities is the future of space. While all humans can benefit from activities in space, the few conducted today are too limiting in terms of engaging the human race in space.

Roger Handberg is a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. Note: we are using a new commenting system, which may require you to create a new account. Commercial space station modules and standalong space stations, like what Axiom Space is proposing to develop, may represent the future after the ISS, but that transition remains uncertain.

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