Aborted Launches

There were a lot of interesting stories over the weekend and through Monday. I've got one that I want to talk about: The aborted SpaceX launch. Let's dig in.

There's a great post on the aborted launch here (link to Autopia blog at Wired.com). It gives a great overview of why the launch was aborted, what exactly a Nitrogen-Purge Valve is and how the engines of the vehicle work. But an issue I want to address is why this particular launch matters beyond the need to replace the Space Shuttle program.

SpaceX is a private company contracted by NASA to build a new vehicle that will ferry cargo and eventually personel to the International Space Station. NASA has been hitching rides on Russian vehicles to meet it's ISS obligations since the Space Shuttles were decomissioned in 2011. What this current program means on one level is a return of American obligations to American hands. On an entirely different level, the SpaceX program is reminiscent of and correllated to the exploration and development of the American West.

The development of the American West began in earnest (aside from various gold rushes including California in 1849) with the Homestead Act of 1862. Until the Homestead Act passed the American West was largely empty and unused. The Homestead Act enouraged development of farm and ranch land, the growth of towns and cities and a population boom that led to state-hood for a large part of the modern United States (the displacement of Native Americans and exploitation of natural resources are a tragic consequence, but that discussion belongs on another blog).

I believe we can draw a conclusion from this and similar events, including the development of the Louisiana purchase and Alaska: government (and ours in particular for many reasons) makes a better enabler than director of exploration and development. I believe our government is in the process of realizing this and is putting that realization into practice by privatizing and incentivizing space exploration and development. Let's draw a couple more parallels between the two eras.

The original expeditions to the American West, like Lewis and Clark, were commissioned by the federal government (for the sake of argument I'll include the Mexican-American War in these expeditions as it resulted in the majority of the American West becoming US Territory). The original expeditions to space were commissioned by the federal government like the moon landing and the Apollo, Voyager, and Mars Rover Missions. After the West was roughly mapped and explored, the government incentivized private citizens (and, inadvertently, corporations) to develop the West. After space was roughly mapped and explored, the government incentivized corporations (and, inadvertently, private citizens) to develop space.

It seems as if we're in another scramble to develop a new frontier. We're following similar steps in the process and hopefully avoiding the pitfalls that we've encountered in the past. In conclusion, the SpaceX program is a lot more than a way for NASA to send personel and cargo to the ISS. It's a way for the Federal government to incentivize the development of space as a productive territory and someday expand our territory outward.

 

Andrew

 

Reading: Fuzzy Nation, Scalzi. Page 202 of 301