Space for Everyone

Plans for Boeing to move into the space-tourism field have touched off controversy on the future role of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the direction of government involvement in space travel. Ultimately, allowing the private sector into space transit and tourism is a smart decision.

The plans call for private flights to bring a mix of people—likely four International Space Station crewmembers and three tourists—up at a time. Such flights are simply transit ones and offer little scientific value. Still, because the crewmembers can conduct important research once inside the I.S.S., NASA will now be able to devote its attention to those experiments along with other valuable endeavors on Earth, rather than allotting resources to launching the astronauts themselves.

Space tourism will draw attention to NASA’s work, specifically the attention of a high-yield pool of executives and innovators who will be paying the incredibly steep fares for their trips. The interest that such flights bring will likely translate into eventual funding opportunities, offering both the prospect of new major investors and competition to Boeing in the aerospace sector.

However, a key role still remains for the U.S. government in our exploration of space. While the government is right to include Boeing and others in some of those endeavors, it cannot pass off all responsibility to private companies. The U.S. must continue to fund NASA and promote scientific research, like the experiments being conducted on the I.S.S. Such inquiry both contributes to the public good and has the potential to create future jobs. It is also worth noting that the government and NASA will provide some funding and support for Boeing’s project, because no company would take the risk of such development without government backing.

In the early years of NASA, the prospect of flying to the moon and the excitement of space travel drove children to study science and consider a career track oriented toward space exploration. Although many such students did not ultimately choose to pursue scientific careers, their increased interest improved the public’s scientific understanding and led to more people seeing value in space-related projects. We hope that the development of space tourism and the new innovation made possible by including the private sector will have a similar effect in the years to come.

Cooperation between private companies and the government is essential as we further develop technology for the research and exploration of space. Moving forward, the U.S. must also play an increasingly important role in international space affairs. Although private companies like Boeing may be the ones physically bringing people off of Earth, there will be a need for governments back on our planet to regulate the industry. As issues of access and rights in space develop, we hope that the U.S. maintains active involvement in those affairs.

Innovation in space transit and research is key. If that innovation comes courtesy of the private sector’s pursuit of space-tourism profits, the public will nevertheless benefit from greater knowledge of the universe around us.