SpaceX, private space travel and the future of NASA

Private space flight took another step forward recently. SpaceX, the company owned by PayPal co-founder and current Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, held a launch readiness test. The test showed that the SpaceX crew are ready to put the Dragon on its first test flight in preparation to use the private space firm for restocking the International Space Station. The development could not have come at a more welcome time for the American space program. The United States currently doesn’t have any of its own ships, needing to use foreign vessels to get a ride to the ISS. The test is a prelude to a lucrative contract SpaceX has with NASA -- the private firm will be getting $1.6 billion over the course of 12 manned space missions.

NASA, formerly one of the most recognized and popular federal programs both domestically and internationally, is taking some risks by outsourcing to SpaceX. For example, Charles Bolden of NASA told a presidential advisory committee that outsourcing to Musk’s company was “disruptive.” Indeed, Musk makes some highly questionable claims regarding the demand for space travel and his ability to provide it at a discount. For example, Musk claims that with a vertically integrated company, he can get America into space at a lower price than the Chinese. He also claims that there is a massive, bottlenecked demand for space travel that only he can unleash.

Some question the quality of Musk’s spacecraft. The company’s launch vehicles simply do not measure up to the specs that are required. As of May 2011, not a single one of Musk’s vessels were “man rated,” meaning that he cannot legally put human passengers on them. While this won’t prevent Dragon from carrying cargo to the ISS, it does present a substantial hurdle that Musk and co will have to overcome if they wish to become viable players in the private commercial space race. SpaceX also has a spotty track record of launches at best, failing to launch Falcon 1 until five years after promised. The company tends to deliver, but does so often many years after promised. Musk struck back by saying that “in the space business, that’s on time.”

Musk, of course, is not the only company vying for the lucrative NASA contracts of the post-shuttle future. Orbital Sciences Corp. is another company building a freighter of its own for a $1.9 billion NASA contract. Famously, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is another attempt to bring space travel into the private sphere, but for the purposes of travel, not exploration or commerce.

Of course, all of this raises questions about outsourcing space travel to the private sector. Once a centerpiece of American policy (not to mention PR), NASA later fell on hard times, a victim of budget cuts and decreasing interest in space exploration. The only nation to plan its flag on the moon was relegated to hitching along with Russians to get to the International Space Station. The idea that the private sector can do it “leaner and meaner” is certainly part of a political ideology, but holds very little basis in reality.

More to the point, private firms are developing rockets with private money. Presumably, Space X and Orbital Sciences aren’t registered as non-profits, meaning that running an effective space program is secondary to ensuring stockholders a good return on investment. There’s nothing diabolical about this, however as SpaceX is currently seeking relaxed regulations on space travel, it might give those actually getting in the vessels pause. In short, NASA is acting as a middle man between the federal government and private rocket firms. How this will save money in the long or short term is anyone’s guess.

However, perhaps a more important point is raised by SpaceX and other private space firms: If the United States government can no longer afford to put a man on the moon, what are the odds that a single private firm is going to be able to make any reasonable headway into space travel? Throwing some supplies on a rocket and shooting it into space is perhaps the most basic form of space travel, and SpaceX isn’t giving anyone any reason for excitement.

Those looking for a robust space program need to look toward a more international future; One where Russian, Chinese, European and American interest converge for the betterment of mankind. Due to the vast resources required for space travel, this seems to be the only viable option for getting humanity off the farm and into the broader universe.