Three Reasons We're Happy Those Billionaires Went To Space.

By Karen and Erica

What do you think about the billionaires in space? We were excited, and caught a little by surprise at the intense criticism. Here’s how we see it.

First, we love the idea of space travel.

• We were born into the space age. We were, and are, starry eyed. We love the idea of going to the Moon, and Mars, and further into space. We would love to go ourselves, to follow in the footsteps of the redoubtable and effervescent Wally Funk, who we hereby anoint as an honorary Lustre Lady.

• Lots of inventions came about as a result of the space program. So we don’t think space travel is simply a matter of throwing money away on crazy stuff. Space travel is an investment in the future, and in making life better. We also think new inventions will lead to jobs and new technology that may enhance sustainability.

• We think humans are explorers, and now that we have mapped out this planet we need to explore other places. There are also compelling geopolitical reasons for doing so. The United States must stay in the game, and stay competitive.

Second, the context for space travel has changed.

• During most of our lives, space exploration was the province of governments. But governmental efforts have been greatly constrained. No-one has been on the Moon since 1972. The U.S. Space Shuttle Program has been terminated, though U.S. astronauts have hitched rides to the International Space Station on vehicles of other nations, and on a SpaceX rocket. But NASA still has the Moon in its sights. NASA is hoping to send a crew to the Moon in 2024, and its competition for a lunar lander seems to have generated lots of interest in the private sector.

• Deep space initiatives, like the ongoing mission to Mars, are still in governmental hands, exciting but not likely to get most of us off-planet anytime soon. It is near space travel that has been relegated to business, sometimes in concert with NASA. Which is what the billionaires figured out. So they decided to do it themselves. You can read all about it in an excellent book, The Space Barons. They were all bitten by the same bug we were, but they are actually in a position to make it happen.

• As of now, two of the barons have made it to suborbital flight, and the company of the third has taken astronauts to the ISS. As far as we can tell, the primary objective of the space barons has not been to get themselves to the Karman line just for fun—and though they seem to enjoy getting astronaut wings that can’t be the real point. As far as we can tell, the objective seems to be to advance the engineering so that we can start to think about much bigger adventures, in near space, for many more people and industries.

Third, we think that, as long as they have the money, this is a great way to spend it.

• We were excited by all three ventures. We still are. But we see the criticism. Why should these three rich white men get to have fun at taxpayer expense? Why should they get the benefit of pursuing off-world factories and space tourism by using vast revenues, from businesses that may contribute to climate change and income inequality, while paying relatively small amounts of taxes?

• These are certainly fair questions. But think about it. These guys are rich because we buy what they’re selling. (It’s a time-honored approach.) Their stratospheric wealth is amplified by the tax code, but if we don’t like it let’s vote to change it.

• However they got here, these individuals have accumulated enough wealth to do amazing things. If they choose to partner with NASA to figure out how to get us regular people to the Moon and Mars, and keep the United States in the space race, we think that’s a good thing.

What does this have to do with us? Just like Wally Funk, we Lustre Ladies want to be where the action is. Traveling to space, and moving toward a vision of off-planet life and society, is a quintessentially human activity—and a national and global imperative. Anytime we see that vision advanced, we cheer because the reality of space travel is getting closer for all of us.