The Commercial Space Industry
1.) On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first to orbit the earth and enter space itself (NASA, 2011). Since then, man has made many accomplishments towards space travel. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969. The Space Shuttle Program put many astronauts in space. The International Space Station (ISS) was established in 1998. These amazing accomplishments have not been without sacrifice, though. In 1986, The Challenger Space Shuttle blew up just after launch killing all aboard. Now in the present day, companies like Space-X and Virgin Galactic are ever expanding the possibilities of realistic space exploration for regular people.
2.) Commercial space regulations were first enacted in 1984 with the introduction of the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984. According to the FAA, the purpose of the regulation is that it "authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) and, through delegations, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), to oversee, authorize, and regulate both launches and reentries of launch and reentry vehicles, and the operation of launch and reentry sites when carried out by U.S. citizens or within the United States. The Act directs the FAA to exercise this responsibility consistent with public health and safety, safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. The Act also directs the FAA to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector, including those involving space flight participants", (1984). All of the current regulations can be found in 14 CFR 400-460. These regulations were a response to the rapidly developing technology for space exploration. I feel as though the rules are fine at the current moment. However, as technology advances and viable commercial spacecraft are introduced, more regulations will likely be written. I feel it is best to have the regulations as relaxed as possible because we need to be willing to do what we can to progress the technology to allow for space transportation. It would be much harder to have great breakthroughs in technology if there were a ton of regulations in place that limited what we could and could not do.
3.) I believe that we are headed in the direction of making regular, affordable commercial space transportation a reality. I feel as though it is possible to occur in my lifetime, but not until I am old sadly. If you take a look at what man has been able to accomplish in the last 120 years with conventional aircraft, it is easy to believe that we will achieve space flight in the near future. The benefits of space travel are much greater than normal sub-orbital flight. Since space is a massive vacuum, there are very few things that will provide any kind of resistance to an aircraft travelling in space. This could allow for much more efficient travel while also being much, much faster. According to coolcosmos.com "the average speed of the ISS is about 17,150 MPH (2017). That is more than 10 times faster than any commercial airliner.
4.) According to chron.com, "NASA’s minimum requirements include a bachelor’s degree in engineering, mathematics or science, and three years of experience. Pilot astronauts must have at least 1,000 hours of fight experience in jet aircraft" (2013). While the requirements for pilots is not specifically laid out, it would be safe so assume that most corporations would require that their space pilots have similar or identical qualifications.
Sources:
Wilson, W. (2011, April 13) Yuri Gagarin: First Man In Space. Retrieved from: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/sts1/gagarin_anniversary.html
FAA, Office of Commercial Space Transportation. (2017, September 27). Office of Commercial Space Transportation: Regulations. Retrieved from: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/
Cool Cosmos. (2017). How Fast Does the Space Station Travel?. Retrieved from: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/282-How-fast-does-the-Space-Station-travel-
Chmielewski, T. (2018). Space Shuttle Pilot Salary. Retrieved from: http://work.chron.com/space-shuttle-pilot-salary-1618.html
2.) Commercial space regulations were first enacted in 1984 with the introduction of the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984. According to the FAA, the purpose of the regulation is that it "authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) and, through delegations, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), to oversee, authorize, and regulate both launches and reentries of launch and reentry vehicles, and the operation of launch and reentry sites when carried out by U.S. citizens or within the United States. The Act directs the FAA to exercise this responsibility consistent with public health and safety, safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. The Act also directs the FAA to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space launches and reentries by the private sector, including those involving space flight participants", (1984). All of the current regulations can be found in 14 CFR 400-460. These regulations were a response to the rapidly developing technology for space exploration. I feel as though the rules are fine at the current moment. However, as technology advances and viable commercial spacecraft are introduced, more regulations will likely be written. I feel it is best to have the regulations as relaxed as possible because we need to be willing to do what we can to progress the technology to allow for space transportation. It would be much harder to have great breakthroughs in technology if there were a ton of regulations in place that limited what we could and could not do.
3.) I believe that we are headed in the direction of making regular, affordable commercial space transportation a reality. I feel as though it is possible to occur in my lifetime, but not until I am old sadly. If you take a look at what man has been able to accomplish in the last 120 years with conventional aircraft, it is easy to believe that we will achieve space flight in the near future. The benefits of space travel are much greater than normal sub-orbital flight. Since space is a massive vacuum, there are very few things that will provide any kind of resistance to an aircraft travelling in space. This could allow for much more efficient travel while also being much, much faster. According to coolcosmos.com "the average speed of the ISS is about 17,150 MPH (2017). That is more than 10 times faster than any commercial airliner.
4.) According to chron.com, "NASA’s minimum requirements include a bachelor’s degree in engineering, mathematics or science, and three years of experience. Pilot astronauts must have at least 1,000 hours of fight experience in jet aircraft" (2013). While the requirements for pilots is not specifically laid out, it would be safe so assume that most corporations would require that their space pilots have similar or identical qualifications.
Sources:
Wilson, W. (2011, April 13) Yuri Gagarin: First Man In Space. Retrieved from: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/sts1/gagarin_anniversary.html
FAA, Office of Commercial Space Transportation. (2017, September 27). Office of Commercial Space Transportation: Regulations. Retrieved from: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/
Cool Cosmos. (2017). How Fast Does the Space Station Travel?. Retrieved from: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/282-How-fast-does-the-Space-Station-travel-
Chmielewski, T. (2018). Space Shuttle Pilot Salary. Retrieved from: http://work.chron.com/space-shuttle-pilot-salary-1618.html
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