ANALYSIS: Is Space a Good Investment?
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Jeff Bezos spent $5.5 billion USD on a journey to the edge of space for 11 minutes. Meanwhile on Earth, over 9 million people a year die from starvation, and global temperature continues to climb. This prompts the question: is space a good investment?
We have been in space since 1961, when in the heat of the Cold War the Soviet Union managed to get the first human into space. At the time, the strategic value of space was too much to pass on, allowing countries to wipe out their enemies without getting their hands dirty. With both the United States and the Soviet Union battling for control of space, in 1969 humanity stepped foot on a different celestial body for the first time ever. However, times have changed.
We no longer have global wars to worry about, but instead humanitarian crises within all borders. Despite this, our investment in space has only increased, especially with the “Billionaire Space Race”. Richard Branson also ventured to the edge of space this year for $841 million USD. To many, space has become a billionaire’s playground, with no value to the rest of us. However, when considering the value of space, it is important to differentiate governmental spending and the private sector. These parties have vastly different objectives in space and should be treated separately.
In 2020, NASA made up just 0.48 per cent of the United States’ federal budget. This is a very small part of spending, meaning it does not take much away from spending in other areas. Yet despite the small budgets of NASA and other government space agencies, they manage to provide a huge amount of benefit to the world. One of NASA and the International Space Station’s largest contributions is in recording data about Earth. Images from NASA satellites help inform us on the amount of carbon stored in forests — a critical factor when considering climate change as forests continue to shrink. These satellites have also helped save lives with their ability to help predict natural disasters, something that will only become more important with the increasing commonality of natural disasters.
Even the International Space Station, one of the more controversial government-funded space projects, costs just 12 billion US dollars a year. That cost is split between all 15 member countries. It is justified in the eyes of many, as the Space Station has unified many countries, including former bitter enemies. Governmental involvement in space has shown one of space’s greatest assets; space changes one from a citizen of a country to a citizen of the earth.
Governments are no longer leading the way into space. In recent years, companies such as SpaceX have taken over the space industry, becoming the primary way to gain entry to the stars. This takeover was expected, as companies can take financial risks that a government could never, as well as even risking human lives. However, should they be there in the first place?
When it comes to billionaires, there is often controversy around how they spend money. However, billionaires have the right to spend their money as they please. The government can tax them more, but cannot force billionaires to spend their money in a specific way. At the end of the day, we need to not think of how billionaires could spend their money differently, but instead if we can benefit from their investments.
There is a large portion of the current space industry that offers nothing to most people — space tourism. Space tourism is currently one of the largest parts of our future involvement in space. However, it will be attached to a large price tag, one that could be spent somewhere else.
Despite this, there still is something to gain from the commercialization of space, although it may take a while to see the fruits of its labour. For this reason, space is best viewed as an investment. Jeff Bezos stated that the goal of Blue Origin, the space tourism company he owns, is to build an infrastructure that future generations can build off, with Elon Musk’s SpaceX attempting a similar goal. This will be done through the commercialization of space. SpaceX has already managed to cut rocket launch prices to almost three times less than NASA’s price. With space tourism’s prominence, we can at least hope that it makes space a safer investment.
Still, what is there to need from space? Is it just a demonstration that humanity can live where it wants, with a little scientific bonus added? Having a foothold in space does offer some things we just can’t have on Earth. One of the most important contributions that is often overlooked is satellites. The communications we have today are only possible because of our foray into space, and so to some extent, we must always continue to invest in space to maintain what we have right now. Additionally, certain materials are easier and cheaper to manufacture in lower gravity, such as fibre optic cables, which are often used in transporting large amounts of data, again something that is integral to the society we have today. There is also the possibility of gathering resources from space, allowing us to continue our growth without devastating the planet. In addition to helping with the climate crisis on that front, space also offers humanity the possibility of offloading dangerous materials or excess carbon. It must be considered that these prospects will need a long time to be fleshed out, and would not provide any benefit until long after some of Earth’s problems have caught up with us.
Fundamentally, we can live without space. There are a lot of aspects of our spending in space that are questionable and do not address the critical problems we have on Earth. However, space is quickly becoming the only direction that we can expand into. It offers solutions to existing problems if given enough time. While the money invested in space could be spent in other ways, the ultimate question we need to ask is: does space offer us enough to be a worthwhile investment, regardless of who is spending the money?