Aviation contributes $1.5 trillion—more than 5%—to the national economy. (Federal Aviation Administration, “The Economic Impact of Civil Aviation on the U.S. Economy,” June 2014)
Read MoreThe space industry generates more than $300 billion in revenue, an amount that continues to grow 5% to 15% a year.
Read MoreFor every dollar spent on space, the knowledge ore brings back as much as $8. And that’s not counting the 65,000 jobs created by the space program.
Read MoreSeeing the overall mission as one of conquering and then escaping the Gravity Well lets us focus also on the need to settle as well as explore. It is this connection that makes this investment so practically valuable for everyday citizens.
Read MoreTo regain our competitive leadership, we need to build our economy on something new, using a quality and degree of expertise no other nation has obtained. What could that new economic engine be? And are we capable of creating it?
We have a brilliant precedent: the flying machine.
Read MoreAs a rule of thumb, ten pounds of rocket fuel are required to push one pound of equipment or human into low Earth orbit.
Read MoreMost of today’s space economy occupies low Earth orbit, a 1,200-mile-wide band that’s a slice of less than one one-thousandth of the Gravity Well.
Read MoreThe risks in space are socialized while the rewards are privatized, a famous economist argues. We taxpayers bear the risks, and private companies reap the rewards.
Read MoreYou’re driving your old classic car with a partner on your way to work, through a hot, barren desert. The commute is ridiculously long; lately it has stretched to more than an hour each way, in part because the ancient car can go only 40 miles an hour. What’s worse, it lacks an air conditioner. You both roll down the windows, but that barely helps. By the time you get to work each day, you’re dripping with sweat. Your trip back home is even hotter. You could stand it if the breeze were stronger or the commute weren’t as long. “We need air conditioning,” your partner says. Here’s a classic illustration of the failure to think systematically.
Look at America’s most notable characteristics, and you’ll find its critical functions. For example, we have a dominant military, the largest economy, we generate the most patents, we invented the iPhone and online shopping, boast the most advanced research universities, and make the most popular music and movies. Given these traits, you might say America’s key functions are to be powerful, rich, innovative, and creative.
