America’s space agency isn’t just about space. Its major initiatives comprise astrophysics, the purest science of the cosmos; study of our Solar System; aeronautics, focusing on improvements to aviation technology; Earth science; examination of the Sun; space technology, which finds new ways to conduct robotic and human missions; and, finally, the human exploration program. (nasa.gov)
It really wasn’t that long ago when the two greatest superpowers were vying to put satellites into space. Now, 50 nations have their own satellites in low Earth orbit. If you’re a Thailand, say, you can call Space Systems/Loral, a Canadian-owned company based in Palo Alto, California, and tell them you want to put a satellite into geostationary orbit for television broadcasting or military communications. You can have the thing in orbit 25,000 miles above Earth within two years.
