How will space transcend rocket science?

May 1, 2019
DENVER, Colo., - Perhaps one of the more intriguing facts about today’s commercial space race and the innovations that continue to rapidly advance is that the revolution isn’t really about space technology at all. In fact, very few advances have been made in the last 30 years with regard to the knowledge and understanding of rocket science. As with many other revolutions in history, what we are witnessing comes mostly from the absence of a unified national vision, fundamental laws of economics and technology’s seeming manifest destiny for humanity, writes Charles Beames for Forbes.

DENVER, Colo., - Perhaps one of the more intriguing facts about today’s commercial space race and the innovations that continue to rapidly advance is that the revolution isn’t really about space technology at all. In fact, very few advances have been made in the last 30 years with regard to the knowledge and understanding of rocket science. As with many other revolutions in history, what we are witnessing comes mostly from the absence of a unified national vision, fundamental laws of economics and technology’s seeming manifest destiny for humanity, writes Charles Beames for Forbes.

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The Intelligent Aerospace take:

May 1, 2019-While Beames notes that the rocket portion of a launch is being done with fairly old technology, what is being put into orbit is much smaller, and much more powerful than their predecessors. Beames' piece looks at the less expensive and more accessible world of space launches.

"These desktop-sized satellites can cost as little as 1% of their ancestors, putting them today within reach of private citizens and fostering completely new ideas," notes Beames, who is Executive Chairman of York Space Systems and the Chairman of the SmallSat Alliance.

Related: Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket launches with its largest-ever cargo to the International Space Station

Related: FAA rule could streamline commercial space launch and reentry requirements

Related: USAF's second Lockheed Martin-built GPS III satellite arrives ahead of July launch

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace

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