Spiritually, our nation lies stuck at the bottom of the Well, uncertain of how to break free. And yet, this is the beautiful thing about the space program: The Gravity Well is not just a metaphor.
Read MoreIt’s hard out there for a systems analyst. Or a president, for that matter. Thinking narrowly is far easier, because it makes the solutions seem that much simpler. But when our leaders start thinking systematically, I believe we’ll all be better off.
Read MoreIt 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.
