- People often ask who do you think will win the competition
to dominate space?
The government sector or private industry?
Take for example, Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D.
and Stark Industries,
there's utility and a need for both.
There really is no comparison.
Here's why.
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S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional government agency
in a Marvel cinematic universe with multiple goals,
including the prevention of espionage and counter-terrorism
both on Earth and in space.
One by-product of trying to stay
on top of the latest threats,
is having a set of cutting-edge scientists and engineers
innovating new technology.
On the other hand, Stark Industries was created
by a former S.H.I.E.L.D. member Howard Stark.
This agency is focused on inventing and building devices
with their range of customers in mind,
including S.H.I.E.L.D.
As you can see, S.H.I.E.L.D. directly benefits
from the presence of Stark Industries, and vice-versa.
Stark Industries built the Helicarrier used by S.H.I.E.L.D.
so that S.H.I.E.L.D. can focus on the things
that it does best.
You can think of the space industry in the same light.
People often think that government agencies are competing
with private industries for their slice of the space pie,
but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Space exploration will never be completely in the hands
of one sector or another.
Generally speaking, each entity has their own motivation
and sometimes the resulting product is a mutual benefit.
The government focuses on developing technologies
and advances that may not have
a known profitable application.
(voyager pinging)
Sending voyager on the space for example was purely
to push the frontiers of our influence outside
of the solar system.
And the process technology was developed which directly
benefits society and the private sector.
The mouse that you used to click this video
was invented in a government sector after a NASA researcher
was trying to find a way to better interact with data
on their computer.
Researchers with the NASA also use their skills
to miniaturize cameras to fit on satellites,
which has enormous benefits,
including the tiny cellphone cameras that we all use today.
(camera snaps)
Let's imagine for a moment that the Hubble Space Telescope
was a Stark Industries endeavor.
In order to fit their business model,
they would need a way to have a sufficient return
on investment so they'd have to charge researchers
to use the data and images that it receives.
They may also have some ownership and interest
in how the results are used and presented.
You'd imagine that these images would only go
to those who could afford it,
which greatly limits accessibility
and potential discoveries.
For the cost of a $1.60 a year,
American taxpayers were able to pay
for the actual Hubble Space Telescope,
to be assembled, launched, and maintained.
Since it was government funded, the resulting information
had no restriction and resulted
in over 1.3 million observations
and over 14,000 published scientific papers.
So cool!
These scientific endeavors may not always have a predictable
practical benefit.
And so the government is the best place to push the envelope
of our knowledge.
With that said, approximately 75% of the worldwide
space enterprises already privately funded.
To include companies that provide you
with your favorite TV and radio channels.
The government has benefited significantly
from private industry.
Between 1970 and 2000, the cost to launch a kilogram
to space remained fairly steady.
With an average of $18,500 per kilogram.
When the space shuttle was in operation,
it could launch a payload of 27,500 kilograms
for $1.5 billion or $54,500 per kilogram.
For a SpaceX Falcon 9, the rocket used to access
the International Space Station,
the cost is just $2,720 per kilogram.
Thanks to the private sector, the government can continue
to push the envelope of scientific discovery
by focusing more on the instruments
and less on the steep cost of launch.
Early investment from a government agency,
like NASA or the Air force can be a crucial step
in the evolution of commercial space companies.
A study by an investment firm focused
on the space industry called Space Angels,
recently released a report which is focused
on the relationship between the US government
and private space companies, where they particular focus
on the impact of public funding.
The report show that early government investments
significantly helps businesses especially when they're
just starting off, and potential investors don't want
to pay for that extra development, time and effort.
Once the technologies develop to a certain extent,
then it looks more attractive to fund privately.
This can be seen in the MCU through the development
and protection of Antman's suit.
Hank Pym was researching pym particles
in a S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory and discovered
the full shrinking and growing potential
of a new specialized suit.
They were attempt to take this technology
including within the organization,
and this fully developed tech was eventually heisted
by Darren Cross to create yellow jacket suit.
67 space companies received a total
of $7.2 billion investment from the government
between 2000 and 2018.
A whopping 93% was invested into companies dedicated
to launching rockets.
SpaceX is a great example of the benefits
of early government investment.
Over the first 10 years, SpaceX operated off of $1 billion
and about 50% of that money came
from the government contracts from NASA.
As a nod to NASA, Elon Musk publicly expresses
appreciation in 2012 after the SpaceX launched
its first Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.
The Department of Defense, Department of Energy,
and NASA small business programs support several
entrepreneurial space companies early in their life cycle.
On average, 35 companies who receives small business funding
attracted six dollars in private investment
for every one dollar of public funding.
Investment in the companies like SpaceX, Boeing
and Sierra Nevada helps us to more efficiently send cargo
and people to the International Space Station.
And ultimately helps advance our ability to develop
human rated space craft for paying citizens like you
to travel safely into space.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is the MCU's parallel
on how a private industry can provide useful space travel
technology for government-funded needs.
Captain America's shield is also a Stark Industries creation
for a military hero.
The benefits can go both ways.
So I'm looking at S.H.I.E.L.D. versus Stark Industries
or government versus the private sector,
they are both necessary for our overall success
to bring what lies beyond a little closer to home,
because space!
Thanks for watching this episode of BecauseSpace.
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