In the world of space exploration each successful spacecraft launch is still a major victory and few disasters are worse than a failed one. So the perfect launch of the Kepler mission was a triumph for its team of mission developers, but likely not as sweet as for William Borucki, the scientist who proposed the instrument system that is the core of the satellite in 2001. He worked for years prior to that to develop the concept he calls automated photometry and to verify its ability to monitor thousands of stars simultaneously to detect any orbiting Earth-size planets passing by. In the 1990s Borucki and his science team proved their methodology at the Lick Observatory in California with a precise lab simulator system. This provided the scientific and technical rationale for the Kepler mission. His dream was stimulated by his first and only job after college at the NASA Ames Research Center. His exploration vision was born out of the many discussions and workshops held with colleagues at ARC on exoplanet exploration, a long-time research theme of that NASA Center. Another major milestone for Kepler will be verification that the monitoring system works in space and can deliver the data to scientists on the ground. That, of course, will be Borucki’s ultimate payoff for his years of dedicated effort.
But what could this mission have to teach to the commercial space community? Kepler is a classic example of a major NASA “space exploration” mission with significant potential scientific benefits. But now, many see the critical need to expand private sector opportunities for “space development” by utilizing space for commercial purposes both in-space and on Earth. To do this, however, we can’t ultimately work on the Kepler schedule. We need lower-cost, more frequent and predictable access to space. This Commercial Space Gateway (CSG) profiles many space-related opportunities for public-private partnerships, potential sales of products and services to the government and others, commercialization of technologies and data resulting from the public sector investment and soon, transport of cargo and perhaps people to/from space. Soon, personal transportation to the edge of space will be available to the public, as well.
The CSG profiles these emerging space development sectors to; help define the commercial space sector, profile its many stakeholders, capture and share its radidly-expanding knowledge base, support resource leveraging and innovative collaboration, and with this broad community, advocate for the real value of this market to the public. This requires stakeholder input to the CSG including new information, new opportunities, current successes, upcoming meetings and events. The CSG can help foster interaction and collaboration between space exploration and space development endeavors because the need is great for public-private resource sharing and innovative collaboration in order to restore and build a vital space program for the US that can compete and cooperate with our international partners for the benefit of all. Strong public support will emerge for space development only when its benefits are better understood.
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Comment on "Kepler: Space Exploration vs Space Development?"
From: Jeff Krukin, 04/27/09
During the current global economic situation, it is to be expected that the traditional and limited-vision question of "Why spend money on space exploration" will be asked even more firmly. This old and tired question is firmly rooted in the history of space exploration being a tax-funded activity, and within this context it still resonates for many citizens. In his article Richard asks, "But what could this mission have to teach to the commercial space community?" While his answer is certainly important, there is something else that space advocates must learn; a new message about space exploration to convey to the public. As commercial space activity becomes ever more real through the efforts of companies like XCOR Aerospace, Armadillo Aerospace, and Virgin Galactic, the above question becomes increasingly irrelevant as a foundation is created for non-taxpayer-funded space business. Although it will not happen as quickly as we want, it is possible for space exploration to shift from its current status of "cost center" to one of "profit center." When this happens, the argument against space exploration that is based on where tax dollars should and should not be spent will carry as little weight as a passenger on a Zero G Corp. flight. When space exploration can be presented within the context of creating new industries and jobs and putting more tax dollars into the Treasury than it draws from the Treasury, the tax argument can join all the other Apollo-era relics in our space museums.
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