Ticket Outta Here: Commercial Space Flight - Lab 077
If you could go on a first-class trip to space…would you? Titi and Zakiya learn more about the history of space exploration and its origins, the rise of commercial space flights, and what we should consider as more people are going to space.
About the Episode
What did the history of space exploration look like?
Military Roots: before NASA, space exploration was conducted by the US military within the context of the Cold War
Operation Paperclip & Wernher von Braun - the United States brought over 1,600 German scientists, regardless of war crimes, to work against the Soviet Union and with the United States
Not just engineers but also doctors and psychologists, who brought with them their ideas of eugenics (see Lab 025) and the “ideal” human bodies to go into space.
Dr. Jordan Bimm: “We see the ripple effects of that even today. We're still trying to fight for diversity and equity of access to space because there has been this entrenched "normal" of the sort of white male body as "space normal," which it's not.” [00:09:28]
Who is space for?
From military roots, to scientific inquiry, to a commercial experience:
Dr. Jordan Bimm: “The thing that's really interesting is that the answer to the question of what space is for — whether it's for military, whether it's for science, whether it's for experience — is always linked to who space is for. So if it's for military, then you send soldiers. If it's for science, you send scientists, engineers and doctors. And if it's for experience, well, then it's who has the money to pay for that.”
Commercialization of space began with a company called Space Adventures that sold flights to the International Space Station after the Soviet Union collapsed and their space program needed money
New developments in reusable infrastructure allows companies like Space X, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic to lower the price of a space launch and offer it to those who can afford it (suborbital or low earth orbit flights with ticket prices starting at $450,000)
What do we need to watch out for?
Dr. Jordan Bimm: “I worry deeply about who is holding the keys to space.”
When billionaires start talking about owning territory in space, we have to think about the red flags, potential consequences, and the framework of colonialism that could play out in space
What kind of regulations can be created in space? Who would enforce them? How can laws keep up with a “first movers’ game” – the people who have the money and the power to commercialize space
Space junk & the Kessler syndrome
What is the positive potential for the future of space exploration?
Dr. Jordan Bimm: “If we go there humbly seeking knowledge, then that can be really, really exciting.” [00:31:39]
Answering the big question: Are we alone in the universe?
New emerging sites of astrobiological interest in our solar system (Europa and Enceladus)
Potential partnership between regulatory agencies and the private sector: The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, chaired by Kamala Harris, meeting to discuss a new rules framework for commercial space.
One Thing
Serena Williams
Guest Expert
Dr. Jordan Bimm, historian of science, technology, and medicine. His research focuses on the history of space medicine and astrobiology
Dr. Bimm is working on a book called Anticipating the Astronaut (MIT Press)