The latest technology quarterly at The Economist is a great overview from Oliver Morton (with appreciation to Yours Truly, among others).
Meanwhile, Alex Witze writes about Obama’s “science” legacy in space. I use scare quotes because human spaceflight doesn’t have much to do with science.
I don’t think much of Mr Morton’s article. The usual staid Economist pap.
For this reason:
“Mr Musk wants to set up a permanent colony on Mars in a couple of decades.
Mr Bezos hopes that millions of people will one day work in orbit.
Neither of these aspirations seems likely to be realised.”
And this:
“As far as a human presence goes, perhaps the most that space can hope for is
to become a new Antarctic, protected from military expansion by treaty,
suited only to research and tourism. It would not be a new Earth, or a greatly
inverted one. But it would be an addition to the human realm well worth having;
Antarctica, after all, is a wonderful thing. And the efforts of the orphans to
create a yet greater future will, as long as there is no terrible loss of life,
provide insights into what visionary drive, technological acumen and capital can achieve.
Humankind’s expansion into space may never meet with crowning glory on other planets
or pass far beyond Earth’s orbit. But the years and decades to come will see something
bolder and more inspirational than the staid circlings of those just past. And whatever
the fate of the most ambitious ventures, the navigable, networked and knowable world
that today’s satellites are creating, reinforcing and enriching will endure.”
If the above is all we can look forward to we may as well quit right now and retreat whimpering into our “one little Earth”.
Note Morton’s caveat “as long as there is no terrible loss of life,”. Are you sure you want to promote this article, Rand?
Most of Oliver Morton’s article seemed fine to me, and provided a good overview. But I agree that it’s very odd that when it came to manned spaceflight, he suddenly felt the need to editorialise and pooh-pooh any longer-term growth prospects.