COLORADO SPRINGS — The next 50 years in space will look much different than the first 50 years, a succession of speakers said Tuesday at the 25th National Space Symposium.
Future space missions will feature collaborations between nations with funding and technology more likely to come from private companies than governments,
“Space is not just a two-way race any more,” said George Nield, associate administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.
Nield noted that China has joined the United States and Russia in launching manned flights, with countries such as India and Japan planning to put humans into space, and others, including Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, planning to build spaceports.
“We need to get used to the idea that we’re not No. 1 in space, in part due to globalization,” futurist/author Alvin Toffler told the 7,500 attendees at the symposium, which runs through Thursday at The Broadmoor.
“If there is a race to Mars, the U.S. will get there first,” Toffler said, but he questioned when that would be. Then he added, “But if there is a multinational effort, humankind will get there in five years.”
The United States has enjoyed the freedom of exploring space, but now must share the heavens, said Keith Hall of the technology consulting firm of Booz Allen Hamilton.
“We need a coherent strategy if we’re to retain leadership,” Hall said. Information also must be shared among nations, though he cautioned that national security concerns will prohibit some cross-pollination.
Private companies will visibly step into the space arena when the shuttle, first flown a quarter-century ago, is retired next year.
Such a sweeping change could have significant impacts in Colorado where more than 171,000 are employed in space-related jobs. The state ranks third in the nation for aerospace employment, according to the Colorado Office of Economic Development.
Once the shuttle is retired, NASA will rely on SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. to deliver supplies to the international space station under $3.5 billion in contracts.
With the transition from programs such as space shuttle to the Orion crew vehicle, engineers and technicians will be caught in a skills gap, predicted Brewster Shaw, Boeing Co.’s vice president and general manager of space exploration.
“No matter what happens, some people are going to be laid off,” said Shaw, estimating about 15 percent could be affected.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
