“Mr. President, in signing this space policy directive, you are ensuring that America will lead in space once again. To guide this new era of American space leadership, President Trump has relaunched the National Space Council. And at the Council’s inaugural meeting in October, we unanimously approved a recommendation to instruct NASA to return American astronauts to the moon, and from there to lay a foundation for a mission to Mars. Today’s action by President Trump makes that recommendation official national policy for the United States of America. As everyone here knows, establishing a renewed American presence on the moon is vital to achieve our strategic objectives and the objectives outlined by our National Space Council.”

Private Space Industry

Morgan Stanley estimates that the “revenue generated by the global space industry will increase to $1.1 trillion or more in 2040, up from $350 billion in 2016. While the Aerospace & Defense, IT Hardware and Telecom sectors will provide investors a way into the emerging space theme, perhaps the most significant short- and medium-term opportunities will come from satellite broadband Internet access. According to Morgan Stanley, “In the last fifteen years, the business of space exploration has changed substantially, with private corporations joining governments in creating and launching rockets and satellites. The recent advent of reusable rockets is drastically cutting the cost of sending satellites into space, and the potential for mass production of satellites could slash those costs further.” Further the Morgan Stanley 2018 report, “Currently, the cost to launch a satellite has declined to about $60 million from $200 million via the use of reusable rockets, with the potential to fall to as low as $5 million. And satellite mass production could decrease that cost from $500 million per satellite to $500,000.”

The following are some examples heavily funded space ventures:

MOON EXPRESS is an American privately-held early-stage company formed by a group of Silicon Valley and space entrepreneurs, with the goal winning the Google Lunar X Prize, and of ultimately mining the Moon for natural resources of economic value.

SPACeX initially funded by the U.S. Government and founded by PayPal founder Elon Musk, has already carried multiple payloads for NASA. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said “We look forward…to competing for EELV [evolved expendable launch vehicle] missions.” As the former Marketing Vice President of SpaceX, Shotwell praised the “Silicon Valley startup culture as a culture gap between SpaceX and the Pentagon. SpaceX’s only connection to Silicon Valley was the Venture Start-up firm that funded Elon Musk’s venture such as, Pay-Pay, Solar City, Tesla, and SpaceX. The company began its early operations and manufacturing operations in a Los Angeles California warehouse. Los Angeles is located over 381 miles south of Silicon Valley. Tim Draper’s Menlo Park Venture Capital Firm funded SpaceX. Also, NASA funding and its technical support has minimized the risk of launch explosions or satellites not able to launched into designated orbits. -although in most cases, if they did occur Elon Musk would do his charm offensive and spin to keep the funding flowing.

BLUE ORIGIN, an extremely secretive private Colorado company, has the billions of Jeff Bezo, the founder of Amazon, but has all in this private space industry must rely on the US taxpayers for risk capital. Eight years ago, NASA awarded Blue Origin $3.7 million to develop an astronaut escape system and build a composite space capsule prototype as part of its commercial crew program. “Blue Origin and ULA joined forces back in 2014, with the objective of putting the BE-4 engines on ULA’s next-generation Vulcan rocket. The BE-4 is designed to be used on Blue Origin’s orbital-class New Glenn rocket as well. Both rockets are supposed to enter service by 2020.If ULA gives the go-ahead, Blue Origin plans to ramp up BE-4 engine production, which is currently being done at the company’s main facility in Kent, Wash. A big part of the ramp-up would involve opening up a new engine factory in Huntsville, Ala. But ULA is still keeping its options open, just in case it can’t strike a deal with Blue Origin. Plan B focuses on Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR1 rocket engine. During a meeting with journalists earlier in the week, Aerojet CEO and President Eileen Drake said “we are well on our way to produce the first engine.” AR1 test firings are due to begin next year, she said. (You can not have a new rocket engine without making the reliable RD-180 a tool of that “evil monster” Vladimir Putin. Nothing new about this “innovation” as launch vehicles and engines were historically German war-time technology innovations then transferred to PRC, USA, and FSU.

ORBITAL SCIENCE’s OmegA is designed to take on intermediate- to heavy-class launches by the Defense Department, civil government and commercial customers. It’s being developed jointly with the U.S. Air Force as an option for future national security launches under the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. Orbital ATK and the Air Force have spent a total of $250 million on the development effort over the last three years, and the company said it’s committed to investing even more. The rocket configuration will make use of solid rocket motors for the first and second stages, plus up to six strap-on solid boosters and Aerojet’s cryogenic hydrogen-fueled upper stage.

USA 2018 Space Policy Directive

President Trump has already signed a $19.5 billion funding bill for NASA for the remainder of 2018. Further, he signed the Space Policy Directive 1 to fund plans for a mission to the moon and then Mars. “We will not only plant our flag and leave a footprint, we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars. This directive will ensure America’s space program once again leads and inspires all of humanity. The pioneer spirit has always defined America, and we’re picking that up in many other fields. I think you see that. I think it’s obvious. All you have to do is look at what’s happening with the markets and all of the great things that are happening. We’re leading in many different fields again, and it’ll get more and more obvious as you go along. After braving the vast unknown and discovering the new world, our forefathers did not only merely sail home — and, in some cases, never to return. They stayed, they explored, they built, they guided, and through that pioneering spirit, they imagined all of the possibilities that few dared to dream. Today, the same spirit beckons us to begin new journeys of exploration and discovery, to lift our eyes all the way up to the heavens, and once again imagine the possibilities waiting in those big, beautiful stars if we dare to dream big. And that’s what our country is doing again: We’re dreaming big.”

Knocking out the Space Competition

Since the beginning of the false political paid news that Russia tried to manipulate the US Presidential Election, U.S. firms have jumped on the narrative that “U.S. astronauts have been forced to hitch a ride on Russian rockets. (i.e. as if a rocket is a political institution).” Now, President Trump jumped on the same "bad" Russia Technology of a Lamar Smith sponsored bill that prohibits the use of foreign services if a domestic capability exists. RD-180 was the Russian manufactured engine that placed America into outer space mission excellence. Again lobbyist, Stephen Fleming of University of Arizona, said “We pay Russia $60 million per person. The private sector can do it for $6 million.” Other media reports echo the venture capital players like Tim Draper and his many associates in USA’s highly expensive Silicon Valley. The USA has lost its high-tech edge in R&D and now has found another early stage government funded space industry such as space tourism, asteroid mining, and on-orbit manufacturing. You have to look at the billionaires behind the private space industry who also fund movies that can sell the "new vision to the public;namely, anyone can go on a space journey. We have all seen those private space venture movies. ULA's reliance on a Russian-made rocket engine used for its NSA National Security Agency mission vehicles and for the U.S. Space Shuttle Missions, have demonstrated for many years lower cost and proven performance overtime, which would normally trump the political agendas of Washington DC lobbyists.

END

(we express our appreciation for the various sources)