Privatizing Space Travel

I am 100% serious when I say Newt Gingrich's best idea - perhaps his only good idea - was the moon base. It's not even the moon base per se, so much as the idea that we should be looking to expand our knowledge of the unknown, and our presence beyond the borders of Earth. If we confine ourselves to a planet that we are killing, we don't have much of a future. Even when and if we stop killing the planet, we are going to use up its resources eventually, and even if we find a way to efficiently harness its renewable resources, one day the Sun is going to die. So long term, even if it is veryyyyy long term, we need to explore what else is out there.

This is not a new idea. If you accept the prevailing theory of Stonehenge then people have been doing it for at least 5000 years. Even if you believe Stonehenge was built by aliens, then you at acknowledge that there is more to the cosmos than us. Studying the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, and so forth has not only increased our understanding of our own world, but it has led to great technological advances that have benefited millions, many as spinoffs of NASA's quest to put a man on the moon.

NASA is a shell of its former self, and I will admit, I was mad at Obama - and still am to some degree - for his decision to axe the Shuttle program. I didn't think that there would be enough of a revenue stream to induce private companies to pick up the slack of sending people and cargo into space. I haven't been proven wrong yet, but at least one company is trying to make sure my prediction does not come true, and I am rooting for them.

Just this morning, a Space X rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral attempting to make the first ever private trip to the International Space Station. If successful, the flight would mark a huge achievement for the private sector in space travel and exploration, and would open the way to more lucrative contracts from the government, thus providing a revenue stream - even if it is still public money - for space travel.

I want the United States to be the world's leader in scientific inquiry and exploration, especially in space, and I still want NASA to play a role. They do have half a century's worth of experience after all. But today's flight is a milestone for private space and aeronautics development that could potentially create new jobs and perhaps even open new markets, and we should all be rooting for its success.

Now where are those people that were accusing Obama of bloating government spending and ignoring private sector growth?