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Space, Inc.
NASA and other government agencies are helping the commercial space industry get off the ground
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Nov. 15, 2002
Times have changed since the days of Sputnik and Apollo. Back then, the only players in the space game were the United States and the Soviet Union. You had to be a superpower to deal in space.
Today, anyone can do it.
You can now buy stock in dozens of companies that offer space services on the open market. Based in countries such as Japan, Australia, and France, these companies will launch a payload into orbit for you or, if you want to go into orbit yourself, they'll reserve a seat for you on a futuristic "space plane."
Space planes like the one in this artist's rendition may soon take lucky passengers for a ride into space -- for a price [More].
Image Credit: XCOR/Space Adventures
A viable space-tourism industry is, however, decades away. Meanwhile, companies have been launching payloads commercially for years -- it's old news. The real cutting edge of space commercialization today is on a third front called "remote sensing."
Orbiting remote sensing satellites gaze down at Earth using their science-caliber sensors to document all kinds of important phenomena -- for example: urban sprawl, water pollution, and coastal erosion. The data they gather have revolutionized the way earth-science research is done, and they offer new perspectives to decision makers facing global problems like deforestation and climate change.
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Cheers,
Dan
Space, Inc . . .