Space the Final Fronteer

The title "The New Space Economy is Getting Real" is referring to "the full range of activities and use of resources that create and provide value and benefits to human beings in the course of exploring, understanding and utilizing space".

Space travel is getting more and more affordable as the competition grows. Over the past few years the general perception of space tourism has changed from being considered "science fiction" to becoming recognized as an important new target for the space industry. This article states that by the year 2030 the space tourism industry could be reaching $100 Billion dollar a year industry creating millions of jobs.  Large corporations have acknowledged that space tourism is the most promising commercial market in space.

What's next for NASA? "As a former astronaut and the current NASA Administrator, I'm here to tell you that American leadership in space will continue for at least the next half-century because we have laid the foundation for success -- and failure is not an option." Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator National Press Club, July 1, 2011. 

This is a very bold comment by Charles Bolden about how America will continue to lead in space development. Currently America and NASA are still basking in the glory of landing on the moon 40 years ago while China is poised to take the lead in space development according to this article.

The US and NASA need to get it in high gear if they want to play key rolls in the future of space exploration. With goals such as landing humans on Mars and developing a Space Launch System NASA has the potential to hold on to the lead in space. Developing the required systems for exploration beyond the earth is the direction that NASA is taking, in affect positioning itself for the future as an absolute necessity to space exploration. However if you listen to Burt Rutan in this 2006 video he gives very little credit to NASA.

The Private sector in their quest to gain market for space exploration and sustainable space tourism, not to mention the possibility of winning the X-Prize, will be the driving factor behind most of the advancements and development of new technologies. On their website, the X Prize Foundation states that "the Foundation addresses the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentive based prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. It motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital".

The current purpose of developing space travel, tourism and exploration has evolved from a space race of being the first country to put a man on the moon or national prestige to the new space economy. The potential to inhabit the Earths orbit, to space travel well beyond the Earth is a concept that will become a commonplace in the future. The benefits of all the research and development of the space industry is much more than just having resorts orbiting the Earth or creating power stations. The underlying benefit that is not talked about as much as tourism is the basic fact that we could be creating a path to human survival. In the future, manufacturing products using material that is harvested in space such as metals will be possible and necessary.

With all of the discussions and activity over the space industry by the government and private company's in creating and manufacturing space based products and systems, the career choices over the next few decades will be vast. In my belief anyone with an interest in this industry would be able to become involved if they get active and network with the industry leaders of the field. 

Emissions Trading Scheme

The European Union has implemented a "Cap & Trade" policy for controlling air pollution by providing economic incentives to company's to curb emission output. In what the EU hopes will reduce the ozone depleting emissions from the atmosphere. It's new name is the "Emissions Trade System" formerly known as the "Emission Trade Scheme". The plan is to charge company's for their emissions allowance according to calculated estimates about how much pollution they will emit in a year's time. At the end of the year, company's will have to surrender what ever amount of pollution credits it has used, or pay heavy fines. If the company has done a good job of controlling its emission output and has extra credits left over it can save them for future use or sell them off. This is a fund raising effort which puts a dollar amount on pollution where the collected funds can be earmarked for research into alternative energy and low carbon technologies etc.

The effect on US operators who conduct international flights to the EU if made to comply with the ETS, some say will only increase emission by US carriers who will add another stop to a flight at a non-participating country. This will add to the overall length of a trip, increasing emission output while saving emission credits needed to conduct business in EU airspace. This will effect the financial health of US operators in that they will be spending on licenses that were not required before this law was enacted. The long term answer to how the cost of participation in ETS will impact each operator is unknown, however it is likely safe to say that the customer or passengers will see increased fares as a result.

The issues that the United States have about the EU's ETS are that the EU is overstepping its authority by imposing emission license fee's to air carriers while operating in international airspace or any airspace that the EU does not have jurisdiction over. Also that fee's that are collected by the EU for flights in airspace in which they they have no right to charge goes straight to the EU and not the controlling country. Other action the US has taken can be reviewed in house bill H.R. 2594 which prohibits US carriers from participating in EU's ETS. When the EU begins to include airlines in its ETS this bill would force us carriers to suspend operations to the EU.

Who is effected? The EU ETS will cover any aircraft operator, whether EU- or foreign-based, operating international flights on routes to, from or between EU airports. All airlines will thus be treated equally. Very light aircraft will not be covered. Military, police, customs and rescue flights, flights on state and government business, and training or testing flights will also be exempted.

My hat is off to Europe for spear heading action aimed at reducing ozone depleting pollution. However it seems they have missed the mark on where their authority lies. My surprise over EU's intentions is that it has overlooked the impact on how it will effect their relationship with the US and other countries that fly into Europe. To force foreign countries into participating in a plan that they had no say in, is a bit presumptuous at least.

The US and other countries that are opposed to this plan should recognize that a similar plan should be put into action in their own countries when attempting to remove themselves from the EU's ETS if they think that the EU is going to give in to some sort of compromise. Unfortunately this move will cost Americans in the long run. Reading articles about how the cost of living will increase for Australians, after they published estimates it seems that the average income family will be paying roughly $1100.00 a year more to cover their ETS costs. Thinking back about what America has done about environmental pollution brings to mind the Clean Air Act which is reguarded as being the most successful domestic environmental legislation ever enacted. 

In this article the author writes about how the plan has failed to curb emissions at all. The EU ETS is a concrete example on how the use of market-based solutions to address climate change is delaying real change towards a carbon-free future while allowing business as usual to continue.

Flying Job Scales Tilt Toward Pilots - Jetwhine: Aviation Buzz and Bold Opinion

Flying Job Scales Tilt Toward Pilots - Jetwhine: Aviation Buzz and Bold Opinion: A post by Robert Mark that gives a realistic perspective on the life of a pilot. The rumors about the so called Pilot Shortage are discussed with interesting thoughts from people who seem to have some knowledge, background or have researched the topic. The comments for this post are interesting.

787 first flight tickets

Tickets for the Boeing Dreamliner 787 auctioned for $31,000

"Love at first flight"

The A380

The AIRBUS A380, is the first full length double decker passenger cabin aircraft ever. With 54 deliveries and 236 orders from airline carriers all over the world, this aircraft is without question making history, and is definitely a game changer for the airline industry. The very first A380 was delivered to Singapore Airlines 18 months behind schedule. According to Singapore Airline officials, the delay in the delivery of their A380 was worth the wait.


In the three class configuration the A380 has room for 525 people, or up to 853 people in the economy class configurations. The A380's seating capacity, and range of 8,300 nautical miles out hauls the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at 210-250 seats with a comparable range of 8,000-8,500 nautical miles. My thoughts are that Airbus has built a winner in the A380 and that it will be a major player in the future of the industry.

  On April 27 2005 the Airbus A380 took it's first flight.

What Airbus has banked on in the design of the A380 is the reduced weight that will be seen by the use of advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber. More than 20% of the A380 is made of these advanced materials. The A380 is 15 tons lighter than it would be if it were made entirely of metal.

The following is a list of composite materials used:

• Carbon fiber reinforced plastic 
• Glass fiber reinforced plastic
• Quartz fiber reinforced plastic
• GLARE - GLass REinforced metal laminate

The reduced weight and increased seating capacity along with it's quieter more fuel efficient engines makes this aircraft something to take notice of. However for airports to accommodate the A380 modifications will have to be made. I believe that the A380 will be taking the spotlight that Boeing's 747  has enjoyed since its introduction in the early 1970's.

How will this super jumbo effect Airbus in terms of profitability? This article explains how increased profit margins have been seen by the airlines that have taken delivery of the A380. The gamble to build the super jumbo is proven good through the airlines that are seeing increased bottom line profits by putting it into service. This increase shown by the actual service time of the A380 will drive the demand from airlines for Airbus to build more super jumbos in the future.

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