What hope does humanity have beyond our world? The space faring age, has been upon us for some time. We have been to the moon and beyond, but the causation of such endeavors where not based on the desire to explore, at least not by the policy makers that supported the space programs.
The need to compete with our selves throughout history has lead to great technological advancement, inside both the aviation and space faring communities. These instances of competition and great advancements in our past, and more recent events in history, like the growth of the civilian space flight sector, shed a small ray of hope on the future of man kind.
Space flight and exploration is with out a doubt the future of humanity.
To understand what the future of humanity’s ties to space may hold, we must first fully realize how and why we have arrived at the place we are now. The history of space flight and its evolution throughout the United States and her competition, may help us understand our future, if any, in space.
1947 marked the beginning of the Cold War. This war developed shortly after the events of the Second World War, between two former allies, the Soviet Union and the United States. The Cold War was in a constant state of political and military tension accompanied by proxy wars and economic competition. This time of war was seen as utterly unconventional as most aggressions by either super power were carried out through the aiding of vulnerable states that were allied, propaganda, a nuclear arms race and technological and economical competitions. The most influential of these aggressive propaganda driven economic races was, to this day, the Space Race.
Communism was spreading fast around the globe. China, Korea and Eastern Europe were all starting to adopt communist policies and governments; all at a time when the United States, the greatest of democracies of the time, realized they had lost their monopoly on the atomic bomb. Gone were the days of America’s ultimate and superior weapons and deterrents of war.
The United States had a far superior air presence and the capability of air power carrying nuclear payloads. The Soviet Union in response to this perceived threat developed a powerful nuclear arsenal at an alarming rate. In 1949 American intelligence agencies discovered the Soviet Union had successfully detonated its first atomic bomb. What followed were both sides developing and arming fleets of aircraft capable of delivering nuclear payloads to their enemies, namely each other. These aircraft were stationed as close as possible to their respective targets, by both sides of the conflict.
The Soviet Union made the first of what was to be a long running series of first moves. Although the United States had several intercontinental ballistic missile programs in place, most of these programs were abandoned before coming to fruition. By 1957 the Soviet R-7 Semyorka rocket became the worlds first fully operational intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM.
The United States was forced to play catch up with the Soviets, in order to show technological superiority to the world and continue the escalation of military superiority. Later the same year, the United States successfully launched the Atlas-A, which became America's first ICBM. Later, an upgraded version, the Atlas-D would eventually be used in both project Mercury and Project Gemini; both being two of the most important manned space missions in American history. This marked the beginning of a back and forth, tit for tat propaganda and technology war that would last for many decades to come.
Satellites, their development and their deployment, were the next giant leaps for mankind. Following the advancements in rocket technology and avionics required to deliver nuclear payloads via aircraft at little to no warning, the next logical step was to see how far the newly developed rocket technology could take military projects. The Soviet Union had been working on an advanced Satellite, the Object D, but revelations that the United States would have a satellite launched into space well before Object D could be, led the Soviets to hasten a much smaller project known as Sputnik.
On Friday, October 4, 1957, at exactly 10:28:34 pm Moscow time, Sputnik was launched into orbit on top of the Soviet R-7 rocket. Sputnik was a shiny spherical ball, which carried on board, two short wave radio transmitters, a damage alert system for the pressurized hull and sensors with the ability to accurately detect the density of the earth’s thermosphere. The successful launch of Sputnik was a great technological achievement, one that once again barely beat the United States to the punch.
Almost four months after the launch of Sputnik the United States launched Explorer 1. This was following the first failed attempt at a satellite launch by the United States, Project Vanguard. Project Vanguard’s first launch was also the first nationally televised launch in history. The rush to catch the Soviets, would lead to global set back in the eyes of the media and the public.
The United States first satellite launch was a disaster. The rocket carrying Project Vanguard exploded immediately after its launch at Cape Canaveral. To make the situation worse, the Soviets had successfully launched Sputnik 2 just a month prior to the failed Vanguard launch. It wasn’t until the successful launch of the Explorer 1; in January of 1958, that the United States was able prove to the world that it wasn’t completely out of the space race.
The Explorer 1’s scientific payload yielded many important revelations about near earth space, which would help with the development of safe manned space travel in the near future. Launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on January 31, 1958, the Explorer 1 carried many delicate and important scientific instruments, including a Geiger counter, and a micrometeorite gauge.
The Explorer 1 proved that there was a radiation belt surrounding the earth. The belt, now know as the Van Allen radiation belt, had before only been theorized by Dr. James Van Allen from the University of Iowa. While the United States was well behind the curve in the eyes of the world, the Explorer 1 proved invaluable to the United States on a scientific level. These findings and the experience gained from the failed launches, would ultimately lead to safer travel in space for future astronauts of both the United States, the Soviet Union, and the world.
The Cold War was an engine of change, one that pushed the boundaries of human ingenuity and expectations. It was the ideological competition for superiority between the United States and the Soviet Union that lead to the ultimate formation of a coherent space program for both warring nations. The Soviets and the United States alike drew great inspiration from their competition, in the hopes that their enemy would not prevail.
“There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency.”
-John F. Kennedy - Rice Stadium
On September 12, 1962 speaking at Rice University, President John F. Kennedy announced to the world the United States newfound technological and economical goal. Its moments like these throughout history, that show beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there is nothing more efficient than a democracy that is working correctly for a common goal. This goal would push humanity’s boundaries even further, and usher in an entirely new era, an era in which mankind will be able to set foot on another world, and return home to our lonely, pale blue dot, to share the incredible story with us all; an era where the impossible becomes possible.
The excitement I feel simply putting these words to paper is almost palpable. I can only imagine what the world was like on July 20, 1969 when over 530 million viewers worldwide watched the moon landing televised live. To this date the moon landing remains the most watched televised event in history, coming only second to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
The decision to go to the moon, and do the other things, was unfortunately based on anything but the desire to explore, and better humanity as a whole. The decision to go to the moon was solely based on the desire to be better than the United States competition. The United States needed to show the world once and for all that we were superior to the Soviet Union both economically and technologically. By putting a human being on another planet, the United States would leave little room for interpretation as to which country was a superior power.
The seven years following John F. Kennedy’s announcement that the United States would go to the moon, were filled with successes and failures on both sides of the war for technological prowess. Ironically the successes and failures of both nations would eventually lead to joint missions and cooperation, that not only continues to this day, but is required by the scientific community to keep the space program alive. This joint cooperation was of course decades away.
In 1969 the United States and the Soviet Union saw the final leg of the aptly named “moon race”. The United States was now leading the moon race after the success of the Apollo 8 mission; however unknown to the United States, was the Soviets quickly failing manned space program. At several points during the race to the moon, President John F. Kennedy proposed to the Soviet Union multiple joint programs, including a possible collaborative moon landing with both United States Astronauts and Soviet Union Cosmonauts.
Fearing that the United States only wished to collaborate in order to steal Soviet space technology, the Soviets declined any joint operations with the United States. If the Soviet Union were to go to the moon, it would be by its own doing, and without outside help. The Soviet Union never made it to the moon. After many setbacks both scientifically and economically, and the death of their leading scientist following complications from surgery, the Soviet Union was informally out of the race. The Soviet Union decided to focus on unmanned projects, as well as manned earth-orbiting projects.
In the United States, humanity’s arguably greatest achievement was underway. On July 16, 1969 a Saturn V rocket with the Apollo 11 module on board lifted off at 9:32 am from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commanded by Neil Armstrong and accompanied by command module pilot Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin the Apollo 11 module arrived at the moon and achieved lunar orbit three days later.
On July 20, 1969 the lunar module named “Eagle” began its decent. After overcoming several different computer malfunctions, Neil Armstrong took over manual flight control of the lunar lander about 600 feet above the lunar surface. Neil Armstrong guided the lander safely down to a landing on the lunar surface in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility. “The Eagle has landed.” - Neil Armstrong. After an almost six hour wait aboard the lunar lander, at 10:56:15 pm on July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot, not only on the moon, but the first man to set foot on any other world.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”
–Neil Armstrong - STANDING ON THE MOON
Over 530 million TV viewers back on Earth witnessed the first step on the moon. Shortly after Neil Armstrong’s famous quote, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin joined Armstrong on the lunar surface. The two astronauts spend just over two hours on the lunar surface before returning to the lander and performing the first celestial launch in history, returning them to the Colombia command module. After rendezvousing with the command module, Apollo 11 safely left the lunar orbit and returned to Earth, landing on July 24,1969 in the Pacific Ocean. The astronauts of Apollo 11 were seen world wide as heroes, and rightfully so. With the safe completion of the Apollo 11 mission, the United States had won the race to the moon, in less than a decade.
The mission was a success, and the United States had proven its technological prowess. This was a victory, not only for the United States, but also for the entire world, for all of humanity. Human ingenuity, courage, and determination had been proven to an extent never before seen, and only previously dreamt of and imagined in the minds of great scientists and science fiction writers. This victory was a time for celebration, but it also marked another milestone in history.
Since the Apollo missions began in 1969, only 12 men have stepped foot on the moon. With the Cold War dwindling and a victory secured by the United States, there was little left to motivate the legislators of our nation to continue funding such expensive endeavors. In the eyes of the leadership of the United States, the space programs purpose had run its course.
Aside from the use of satellites for military and telecommunications purposes, there would always be the possibility of another space race, and these possibly have been why NASA wasn’t completely disbanded after the end of the Cold War and the Space Race. The possibility of another space race only dwindles as time goes on, with more and more countries working together within the scientific community, there may never again be the national defense motivation that was required to bring countries to the point of funding programs they consider to be unessential.
Historically NASA’s budget has averaged only 1% of the federal budget. Only briefly during the Apollo program was the budget peaked at 4.41% of the federal budget. Since the completion of the Apollo program the budget for NASA and their programs have been drastically dropping. As of 2012 the federal budget for NASA has dropped all the way to 0.48%, where it has been maintained until present day. That is, only one half of a penny, of every tax dollar goes to NASA funding.
NASA has been forced to completely dissolve its space shuttle program, now relying on the Russian space program to send American astronauts to the International Space Station and return them back home safely. Recently in the news NASA has been calling for assistance from the civilian space sector to help design and build new space craft, and even such relatively small projects as the launching of orbiters to continue the relay of information from Mars to Earth. NASA no longer has enough government funding left in its budget to even continue receiving photos from the rovers on Mars.
“When you innovate, you lead the world, you keep your jobs, and concerns over tariffs and trade imbalances evaporate. The call for this adventure would echo loudly across society and down the educational pipeline.
At what cost? The spending portfolio of the United States currently allocates fifty times as much money to social programs and education than it does to NASA. The 2008 bank bailout of $750 billion was greater than all the money NASA had received in its half-century history; two years’ U.S. military spending exceeds it as well. Right now, NASA’s annual budget is half a penny on your tax dollar. For twice that—a penny on a dollar—we can transform the country from a sullen, dispirited nation, weary of economic struggle, to one where it has reclaimed its 20th century birthright to dream of tomorrow.”
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson - U.S. Senate Testimony
NASA’s quickly dwindling hold on space travel and exploration comes at time in history where humanity is now capable of reaching for the stars without the help of governments. Over the past decade, the civilian space sector has been slowly building momentum. With wealthy philanthropists like Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson pouring millions into the development of commercial space travel, it is painfully obvious why NASA is forced to recruit engineering and scientific assistance from these budding companies. The private space industry simply has more funding and more resources than the agency that put men on the moon.
Virgin Galactic has plans to begin suborbital space flight in 2014, officially taking the title of first commercial space line. Currently there are over 600 people signed up to fly on the space line, with tickets starting at $250,000 per passenger. Ironically the only thing that seems to be slowing progress of civilian space endeavors is governmental red tape. It has been very difficult to even gain permission for test flights, sometimes taking months to years to receive government approval.
It would not be a far stretch of the imagination, to envision a future where the investments of passengers, both through ticket purchases and investment funding spurred by a new found passion for the final frontier, could lead to private civilian space programs having a far higher budget than government agencies will ever have again. As a matter of fact, as low as NASA’s budget is, forcing them to rely on civilian help, NASA actually holds an astounding 72% of global government space funding.
The days of governments investing the time and resources into space programs that is necessary for their continued successes has come to an end, and has been heading that way for decades. The lack of governmental support for these programs ceased, sadly, a long time ago, when the perceived threat of war and the competition to prove superiority that was the Cold War came to end. It is a sad state of affairs, when our desire to control, profit and wage war with one another outweigh our desire to explore, discover, and do better. Arguably, this has always been the case, the war machine, sadly, has been the leading factor in almost all of humanity’s giant technological leaps.
Not all is lost for humanity’s future in space and the promise of one day leaving this lonely blue dot in the universe. The days of international teams of civilian scientists and engineers coming together to reach new and exciting goals to benefit all of mankind are on the rise, rapidly. As of today, there are currently dozens of civilian space flight companies, many of who are receiving serious funding from billionaires around the world.
"Since, in the long run, every planetary civilization will be endangered by impacts from space, every surviving civilization is obliged to become spacefaring--not because of exploratory or romantic zeal, but for the most practical reason imaginable: staying alive... If our long-term survival is at stake, we have a basic responsibility to our species to venture to other worlds."
-Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot
With no end to the private space sectors successes in sight, it remains only to be seen how long it will take to recapture the hearts, imagination, and economic desires of more and exponentially more of the world’s independent wealth. Space flight and exploration is with out a doubt the future of humanity, with or without a traditional if not completely foreign government presence.