- Budget deficits and different priorities have forced the space program to evolve.
- Entrepreneurs are carving out niches for themselves in the space industry.
NASA used to be the space program, but space is moving into the private sector.
SpaceX.com
In the 1960s and 1970s, NASA was the space program. Gemini, Apollo, men on the moon. Things have changed. Today, on Engineering Works! Listen to the podcast.
Those of us of a certain age remember when a launch from Cape Canaveral was exciting. Everything stopped so we could watch. Things are different now. The space program is still important, but budget deficits and different priorities threaten. And NASA’s not the only game in town anymore.
Private companies are pushing to take over pieces of what used to be NASA’s exclusive turf. Everything from building innovative inflatable space stations to developing rockets to put them into orbit. It’s too early to tell if space entrepreneurs like this are going to be able to carve out niches for themselves in space, but it seems to be working.
A small-scale inflatable space station is in orbit now around the earth. You can use the company’s onboard video system to check it out. And they have several other versions of the habitat ready to go. Almost.
Another company has used its own rocket to put a model of its own space vehicle into orbit. Other versions of the rocket, all the way to a massive three-engine heavy-lift rocket are on the drawing board.
These companies want to make space more accessible than it seems to when NASA was the only option. And they think they can do it as well as NASA and cheaper.
We’re going to launch for home. See you next time.
Engineering Works! is made possible by Texas A&M Engineering and produced by KAMU-FM in College Station.
Tags: Budgeting and Saving, Engineering, Inventions, NASA, Rockets
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