There are many, far more (immediately) important things going on in the world than I am going to talk about here. But none so thoroughly, broadly, and yet obscurely relevant - none so inextricably twined with the fate of all our hopes and dreams, all our struggles and triumphs, all the many things we celebrate and lament. I am going to talk to you about space and human destiny, and in hopefully a sincere and piercing way that avoids the silliness of 1950s educational films. Within this grand story, our most titanic political struggles are but the waving of leaves on a wind - a fact that should, paradoxically, give us more strength to deal with problems that no longer seem as insurmountable as they once did.
If you are a space geek like me, or just someone who appreciates beautiful images of astronomical objects, you may have encountered my ongoing diary series Getting to Know Your Solar System, wherein I've been slowly working my way outward from the Sun and exploring new objects and environments. Many commenters have complimented the educational aspects of the series, as well as their beauty, and I'm constantly heartened and encouraged to continue by their positive reaction. Still, each entry in the series can become quite lengthy, depending on the subject - i.e., I'm having to explore Earth in five separate volumes due to the sheer quantity of available knowledge. But no matter how much work is involved, I definitely feel like the outcome is worth it - not only have I learned something, but I've shared my joy of discovery with others.
So, apart from my little self-inflicted quagmire on the subject of Earth - I could have simply glossed over it trivially and zoomed on to more exotic locales - the series is progressing nicely in my opinion, and I am proud to be creating it. It is a substantive contribution (however humble in absolute terms) not only to Daily Kos, but to humanity, and something whose process of creation gives me pleasure. In choosing images of an object, I sift through large quantities - some marginal, some exquisite, and many that are difficult to decide about - and in the process, I develop a sense of familiarity with my subject, as if I really were exploring it rather than just passing on second-hand information. I feel elevated by what I am doing, and am grateful to have thought of it.
So where does the "frustration" come in mentioned in the title? Well, unfortunately, my zeal to explore - and indeed that of millions besides me - drives far beyond what the present state of politics (anywhere in the world) is implementing. I am tired of the endless compromising of the Space Age from a glorious Von Braunian vision of humanity mobilized to seek its destiny in the furthest reaches of the solar system into a poorly-funded, poorly-managed, aimless sideshow where handfuls compete for the rare privilege of spending a few weeks in Earth orbit while one or two robotic probes each decade are sent further. But there is hope - great hope. A hope that, like everything else worthwhile, takes an infuriating time gaining momentum.
I speak of SpaceX, and its leader Elon Musk (my personal hero). Musk is simultaneously using his business acumen and innovative talents to tackle solar energy, electric cars, and making space travel affordable - and he's winning. Slowly - eye-gougingly slowly - he is moving an entire world of immovable objects on the sheer power of daring and an inhuman ability to apparently work without sleep. But the heroic epic unfolding at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA is not what I want to focus on here. It is to ask the question, why is this man alone?
To be sure, there are other brilliant, dedicated people pursuing lower-cost access to space, EVs, and affordable photovoltaics, but none of them have turned it into a mission and swept up the world in their vision. Why is this man fighting alone? Why is it his own, now quite modest personal fortune keeping all this going? Other wealthy men are pursuing space technologies - e.g., Jeff Bezos is building a space capsule at his private hangar in Texas - but none of them seems to have clued in, like Musk, that this cannot be achieved in isolation: The entire infrastructure must be transformed, launch complexes refurbished, legacy systems reinvisioned, and ambitious goals reestablished. While these other companies continue the unbroken, decades-long chain of nothing happening, tinkering with machinery and fuel mixtures, Musk reengineers the logistics and financial structure of space launch.
But again, why is he alone? Why have visionary industrialists and scientists not flocked to his banner the way that engineers and space enthusiasts have? Why is SpaceX not already the largest corporation in the world, with subsidiaries dealing with every single aspect in the vast ecosystem of exporting humanity to other worlds - the stated goal of Musk and SpaceX? If I just had 5% of Warren Buffett's wealth - a tiny fraction of a single man's money - I would found a nonprofit organization expressly for the purpose of implementing human colonization throughout the solar system; bring in scientists, engineers, businessmen, and academics from all over the world to an ongoing convention where we hash out the plans and details; and I would give every last cent of the money to the organization. But I shouldn't have to - this should already have happened. It doesn't take billions to bring people together, form a consensus, and chart a cooperative course toward an objective already nearly universally agreed upon in the relevant sectors. But even if it did, if the wealthy entrepreneurs already involved in space were simply to contribute a small fraction of their money toward creating such an institution, they could easily do so.
Aside from electrifying the world and energizing every aspect of politics, education, and society, its efforts would be a tremendous engine of economic growth. Imagine the schools such an institution would found in poor communities throughout the world to train the next generations of astronauts, scientists, and colonists; imagine the exotic applications on this planet of the technologies being developed for offworld; imagine the sense of unity and purpose of a globe pulsing with energy as it anticipates reaching outward, finding new things and new surprises wherever it goes, and always looking back at Earth with a renewed understanding and appreciation. This could happen within a few years, with a tiny fraction of the money NASA wastes on politically-directed objectives whose only purpose is to keep the wheels of Dick Shelby's Alabama greased. But even if we ignore NASA, it could still happen if just a handful of these wealthy narcissists (like Bezos) who are pretending to care about space would bring the world together and pool their resources instead of (or at least in addition to) pursuing vanity projects like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.
There are all these companies and private organizations claiming to be about putting humanity in space, but almost nothing they do has anything to do with working toward that objective. They have no real plans, just wistful Power Point drawings; they don't come together with others to make it happen, they just attend conventions to show off their little models and argue over minutiae that will have zero impact on either disputant's success or lack thereof. It's about time the community of technological leaders came to together with business, academia, and visionaries therein like Musk to begin charting a real course for this world, and opening up opportunities for everyone to contribute. No matter how useless a person with no skills might be in a rocket factory, find something for them to do, because there are legions of people (like me) who would love to volunteer (translation: WORK FOR FREE) for efforts like this if people would just understand that there are millions of people who want to be involved and are simply ignored while the engineers do their tinkering. Someone credible and with community standing (like Musk) needs to call a worldwide Congress of Space and reach not only consensus, but make some actual PLANS - bold ones that electrify the world and get things moving. Musk's boldness has already been an inspiration - seeing how we squander the trails he is blazing is appalling.
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New photo from Vesta: