Orbiting Communities and Solar System Exploration - Term Paper Example

Orbiting Communities and Solar System Exploration: The Search for Life in Deep Space via Satellites, Moon Probes, & Interplanetary Gliders : Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Acquisition of the Astrotech Company 3 Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities 4 Interplanetary Gliders 6 The Search for Life on Planets and Moons 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the International Space Program has advanced on the basis of the collective scientific knowledge of humanity, with leadership generally acknowledged to have been driven by the advanced and developed nations economically with their technological and military prowess. Today, after the retirement of the Space Shuttle in the United States, a new era of space exploration is dawning, largely expected to be driven by private enterprise. SpaceX is one of the leading companies in this new paradigm, and Astrotech (formerly Spacehab Inc., NASDAQ: ASTC) is an example of a small, publicly traded company involved in the business of space exploration, mission supplies, research and development of space exploration technologies. One of the greatest successes of supra-national cooperation in space exploration is the International Space Station (ISS), built and developed in coordination with advanced scientific teams from over 15 different nations. (NASA, 1998) In order to develop and plan for the search for life in our solar system, as well as to fund this search through private investment that is sustainable and profitable for shareholders over time, a private company should be formed that seeks to replicate the facilities, research, and success of the International Space Station in orbital locations across the solar system. The company should also engage in the production of “interplanetary gliders” powered by solar sails and ion drives that are able to travel through the low gravity environments between the planets. By establishing orbital communities around the other planets in our solar system, as well as the moons of these planets, the company can used already known and developed technologies to innovate and make the current plans more efficient, that human colonies can be established around the solar system to be dedicated to the search for life on other planets and moons. Acquisition of the Astrotech Company Due to the benefits of specialization and cooperation, the “heavy lifting” of escaping the Earth’s gravity system and transporting goods, people, and equipment into space via rocket or shuttle systems should be sub-contracted initially to other companies such as SpaceX, while the company under proposal, to be named initially the SpaceHub Investment Group (SIG), should specialize in building fully complete and replicable ISS-style space habitation units. In order to attain an advantage in research, intellectual property, press exposure, and experienced personnel for this venture, SIG should first attempt a takeover of the company Astrotech (formerly Spacehab Inc., NASDAQ: ASTC) whose stock currently trades at only $.70 per share and with a market capitalization of only $13.56 Million USD for the entire company. (Google Finance, 2011) One of the specializations of Spacehab is that it has previously worked in coordination with 23 different Space Shuttle missions providing specialized solutions in pressurized habitations for the deep space environment. (Astrotech, 2011) “SPACEHAB provides module and pallet designs that have successfully enhanced the research capabilities, cargo carrying capacity and habitation conditions of the orbiter fleet, while meeting the specific needs of its government and commercial customers.” (Astrotech, 2011) Acquiring this company at a low price would allow the company to begin with the staff of 66 people currently employed by Astrotech as well as control of the leases that the company operates at Vandenberg Air Force Base and Titusville, Florida near the Kennedy Space Center. (Astrotech, 2011) Due to the decline of the U.S. Space Program and NASA budget, there is probably no better time than the present to acquire Astrotech and expand the company to become a vehicle for producing complete ISS or Skylab types of orbiting space communities that can be installed not only in Earth orbit for private science and tourism, but also in orbit of other planets and moons in our solar system for the search for life and space colonization. The International Space Station (Shuttle Press Kit, 1999) Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities The International Space Station can be seen as analogous to one of the first Model-T Fords in the history of technology, meaning that with efficiency and mass production, the revolutionary success of the ISS can be replicated and spread to locations across our solar system. Some space companies are specializing in satellite design, such as Boeing, Motorola, Terrestar, Lockheed Martin, etc., and others such as the Military-Industrial Complex companies and SpaceX focus on primarily rocket vehicle production. Rather than overly compete with these companies initially, the business plan for this venture is to replicate the success of the International Space Station by building complete Semi-Permanent Orbiting Community Kits (SPOCKs) that can be deployed and occupied by human communities in space. There is a large demand for these type of facilities by the private sector – for research, for space tourism, for intentional communities in space, for mining, and general space habitation. By standardizing, customizing, and mass-producing SPOCKs based on the tried, tested, and proven ISS design, the refurbished and emboldened SpaceHab company resulting from the takeover of Astrotech by the investment group can specialize in this sector of space exploration and research, making a specialized niche in the business sector and developing it in tandem with the other companies that are working in the future of private space development. While it is unlikely that any one company can develop, produce, market, and monopolize all of the elements that are involved in the space colonization and the search for life in our solar system, the revitalized and refinanced SpaceHab company can provide a vital service in this collective development by focusing on doing one thing very well, which is the production of Semi-Permanent Orbiting Community Kits (SPOCKs) and making them available to other groups. One of the main historical influences of this plan is the work of Gerard O’Neill, Professor of Physics at Princeton University, who published the “Space Colonies: The High Frontier” in THE FUTURIST (February 1976) outlining “the central ideas of space colonization”. (O’Niell, 1976) O’Niell’s original recommendations were: 1. “To establish a highly-industrialized, self-maintaining human community in free space, at a location along the orbit of the moon called L5, where free solar energy is available full time.” 2. “To construct that community on a short time scale, without depending on rocket engines any more advanced than those of the space shuttle.” 3. “To reduce the costs greatly by obtaining nearly all of the construction materials from the surface of the moon.” 4. “At the space community, to process lunar surface raw materials into metals, ceramics, glass, and oxygen for the construction of additional communities and of products such as satellite solar power stations. The power stations would be relocated in synchronous orbit about the earth, to supply the earth with electrical energy by low-density microwave beams.” 5. “Throughout the program, to rely only on those technologies which are available at the time, while recognizing and supporting the development of more advanced technologies if their benefits are clear.” (O’Niell, 1976) While our program would focus more on the development of lightweight nano-materials that could be built and deployed from Earth, the need to expand and develop a network of these Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities across the solar system promotes the need for a mode of inter-space transportation that is different from the rocket and space shuttle. Interplanetary Gliders Lyman Spitzer’s 1951 article on “Interplanetary Travel Between Satellite Orbits” contained one of the first scientific approaches to the physics-related questions of travel to other planets, presented simultaneously in a manner that was both theoretical and practical. (Spitzer, 1951) The Apollo missions and lunar landings are another example of the vast planning and resources required to settle human beings on other planets and moons in our solar system. As the ISS model is already well established and working in Earth orbit, the potential for replicating this model in a Semi-Permanent Orbiting Community Kit (SPOCK) will be the main goal of our company. Yet, in order to seed SPOCKS in other locations of the solar system, such as in orbit around Mars, Mercury, Venus, the outer planets, or any of the numerous moons orbiting the planets in our solar system, there needs to be developed a more efficient means of “Interplanetary Travel Between Satellite Orbits” than is currently existent. Ultimately, a network of orbiting space communities will need to be resupplied and connected with a type of inter-space highway and transportation system. The best initial plan for this would likely be the use of the “ion drive,” however as Giovanni Vulpetti, Charles L. Johnson, and Gregory L. Matloff wrote in “Solar sails: a novel approach to interplanetary travel” (2008), “Solar sail propulsion will make space exploration more affordable and offer access to destinations within (and beyond) the solar system that are currently beyond our reach.” (Vulpetti et al., 2008) Thus, while the company is perfecting the SPOCKs for deployment and sale to other investment groups, the company should simultaneously invest in joint ventures that make inter-space solar gliding vehicles a reality so that private space travel across the solar system can become a reality. The Search for Life on Planets and Moons By establishing Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities across the solar system, not only around the major planets but also around the major moons of the planets such as Io, Europa, Ganymede, Calisto, Titan, Iapteus, Phoebe, Hyperion, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Encylades, Mimas, Ariel, Miranda, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Proteus, Triton, Nereid, and others, space colonization and the search for life can proceed in tandem. While our company would intend to focus on SPOCK production, this should also be integrated with satellite and rover technologies that are used to explore foreign worlds and landscapes following the example of the Mars exploration or the probes sent to other planets. Humans in the local environment would be able to additionally colonize the surface of the planets and moons in establishing terrestrial habitation in outer space planets and moons, and the Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities should be seen as an intermediary and enabling aspect of this process which makes possible an interconnected web of settlement throughout the solar system. The rovers can perform robotic sampling of soil in search for life while conducting mineral analysis when equipped with biological sensors and microscope analytic devices, but these are in many ways very limited in comparison to what actual human settlements on foreign planets and moons could achieve. Satellites can scan for remote signs of life on other planets and moons, and nano-devices may be able to swarm across space to explore for signs of life on a cost-efficient basis. Nevertheless, in the search for life on other planets and moons in our solar system, the construction of Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities is an important stage in enabling the human settlement in these remote locations and should be the focus of our initial efforts to move off-planet. Conclusion By taking over the Astrotech (NASDAQ: ASTC) company, acquiring the real estate, intellectual property, and experienced staff for building a Space Habitation company, our investment group should be able to scale Semi-Permanent Orbiting Community Kits (SPOCKS) to clients in the public and private sector, and simultaneously attract investment through the issuance of stock and bonds. By participating in the next stage of private enterprise developing the space exploration technology and expeditions that will search for life in our solar system, the importance of establishing Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities in a network of interconnection across space is an obvious need. From these Semi-Permanent Orbiting Communities, scientific investigation into life on other planets and moons can proceed with the most efficiency. The development of “ion-engine” inter-space gliders or solar sail vehicles is another important aspect of this vision. Rather than attempting to do all aspects of space exploration in a monopolistic manner by one company, this plan proposes to replicate the successes of the ISS model and use efficiency in mass production and innovation in design to customize these SPOCKs for any client who is seeking to deploy into deep space in a sustainable habitat. Through private industry and investment, companies operating on this model of development can lead the search for life on other planets and moons of our solar system. References Astrotech. Facilities. Astrotech Corporation, 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://www.astrotech.com/about-us/facilities›. Astrotech. Spacehab Missions. Astrotech Corporation, 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://www.astrotech.com/business-units/spacehab-trans/missions›. Astrotech. SPACEHAB Logistics & Research Carriers. Astrotech Corporation, 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://www.astrotech.com/business-units/spacehab-trans/logistics-research›. Beatty, J. Kelly & Petersen, Carolyn Collins. The new solar system. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://books.google.co.in/books?id=iOezyHMVAMcC›. ONeill, Gerard K.. Space Colonies: The High Frontier. THE FUTURIST, February 1976. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://space.mike-combs.com/SCTHF.html›. NASA. Space Station Assembly. ISS, 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/partners.html›. Shuttle Press Kit. The International Space Station. Shuttle Press Kit, 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm›. Spitzer, Lyman, Jr. Interplanetary Travel Between Satellite Orbits. Princeton University Observatory, 1951. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://www.iafastro.org/archive/1951/iac1951_2.pdf›. Vulpetti, Giovanni; Johnson, Charles L. & Matloff , Gregory L. Solar sails: a novel approach to interplanetary travel. Springer, 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. ‹http://books.google.co.in/books?id=xTed_Ebm32UC›. Read More