An opinion piece has been published on Bloomberg about the new reality of privatised space in light of the situation with American astronaut Mark Vande Hei on the International Space Station and the Russian space agency's "joke" that they might leave him there.

He correctly describes the situation. Space is now and will increasingly be commercial. But he slips in an extremely dubious assertion.

Critics complain that space tourism is only for the uber-rich and is bad for the environment. Maybe so. But it’s not the fault of private industry that the U.S. is on the verge of abandoning space. And if we’re going to keep sending people up there — and I hope we are — more rescue options are better than fewer.

Private industry influences government. That's a fact.

Also a fact, there is enormous commercial potential in space.

The mineral content of some asteroids may exceed the entirety of Earth's current reserves.

That factor alone - and it isn't alone - would be enough motivation for private industry to encourage NASA's downsizing.

We might not have evidence that this has occurred but it would be unreasonable to discount the possibility.

[ Main Image: International Space Station. Credit: NASA. ]

References

Carter, Stephen L. (March 19, 2022). If a U.S. Astronaut Gets Stranded, the Rescue Will Be Private Sector. Bloomberg.