The Consequential Frontier

August 19, 2019
Technology journalist Ward’s fascinating exploration of the possibilities of privatizing interplanetary activities comes at the perfect moment, with the once wholly government-led, taxpayer-funded space race seemingly on the cusp of major transformation. Setting the stage, he reveals that the end of NASA’s Space Shuttle program in 2011 left the U.S. for the first time with no way, beyond hitching a ride on a Russian spacecraft, to reach the International Space Station. NASA thus turned to commercial launch partners, ultimately choosing Elon Musk’s SpaceX over Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and inaugurating a new era of commercial involvement in space travel. Currently, Ward explains, the main impediment to a “cosmic gold rush” is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which, in order to prevent conflict, bars countries from claiming sovereignty in space. However, Ward writes, it may become a historical footnote, with the current White House intent on privatizing and militarizing American space exploration. Ward considers these and many other issues, including orbital manufacturing, moon mining, and space tourism. Though an idealist, hoping for developments that serve humanity rather than corporate bottom lines, Ward is also a realist, acknowledging that “money is driving this race.” This savvy work gives readers valuable insight into the ramifications, good and bad, of allowing business into space.