Why The Billionaire Space Rivalry Is Great For Everyone

Why The Billionaire Space Rivalry Is Great For Everyone

The Billionaire Space Rivalry Is Great For Everyone

At this point, very few in the space industry would argue the many societal benefits that the world inherited from the first Space Race. From integrated circuits to Bill Anders' iconic Earthrise picture from Apollo 8, which launched the modern environmental movement, government space investments have certainly elevated our standard of living for the last 50 years. Just as a successful gambler's strategy is as much about knowing when to walk away as it is how to place bets, our government should consider pivoting to a similar strategy of stepping away from its once-successful, yet now obsolete, system designs to become a fully-fledged consumer of commercial solutions. The past few weeks have made it explicitly clear that the future of space exploration and discovery now belongs to private enterprise, and a free government's role is to regulate and promote commerce.