Rocket Man

Over the weekend I finally got caught up with one of my favorite fortnightly podcasts, Liftoff, and I especially enjoyed the discussion Stephen and Jason dive into about the differences in strategies and ambitions of competing space billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

But I disagree with their assessment that space tourism doesn't align with space colonization goals, particularly Bezos'. Snell and Hackett conclude the episode with a bit of pessimism toward the industry of space tourism (Overcast link):

Hackett: I have a harder time drawing the dots between where Blue Origin is now and this world in which Blue Origin and Bezos have built this infrastructure where space business is a thing.

[...]

Snell: It's a novelty to me. And the real question is, even with space tourism, and building an inflatable space hotel like HIBEAM, it's kind of a novelty. And I think the reality is, when it's starts being an infrastructure and there is business and applications beyond just, "guess where I'm calling from? SPACE!" There needs to be more to space than just the novelty of going to space."

I see space tourism as the high-performance car of space exploration. Maybe novelty is the right word for super cars and Formula 1 racing, too, but the innovation in those realms have pushed incredible technology into everyday vehicles.

I see space tourism providing three key innovations that NASA, and to a lesser extent even SpaceX aren't in a position to advance:

1. Reliability through familiarity: space tourism will drastically increase the tempo of launches, to a greater extent than even Musk's reusable rocketry can claim. An increase in the orders of magnitude routinization of space flight, and putting wealthy humans that plan to go back to the ground and continue with their lives, is going to push our ability to launch safely and cheaply. We need precious cargo to make that real.
2. Habitation advancements: more people in space means we need more people to hold them. If we want to build a colonization beachhead on Phobos, Deimos, or in low orbit above the red planet, we need to expand our experimentation in short and long term space habitats. Space hotels? Bring 'em on.
3. Capital and captivation: we need investment for future space endeavors, but space is slow. Success in funding future private industry means convincing angel investors and venture capitalists to make long term investments. I'm doubtful that many people that take the space express are going to be repeat guests, but I don't doubt that seeing Earth from that alien perspective might change hearts, minds, and pocketbooks. That investment, more than profit from individual flights, is what will fuel future space endeavors.

Like Jason and Stephen, space tourism isn't why I'm excited about space, and it's certainly not the business I'd pursue if I was an evil super villain billionaire. But, I do see it as a necessary step toward a pan-solar system future, and I'm cheering on Bezos to develop the infrastructure and funding we need to make space real for a much larger slice of humanity.