Op-ed | New Horizons or Financially Limited Horizons?
Finding the resources to reach the planets will require refocusing on domestic politics and shifting the American political environment.
Finding the resources to reach the planets will require refocusing on domestic politics and shifting the American political environment.
When my son and I flew to Florida to see Atlantis’ final flight, our airline tickets cost us about $6.50 per kilogram (excluding luggage). Sending the space shuttle’s cargo into low Earth orbit cost about $20,000 per kilogram. That huge difference is the major challenge facing spaceflight today. Unless we drastically reduce the cost of reaching orbit, the large-scale exploration and exploitation of space will not occur.