Space is good, Billionaires are not- we need to sever their control of space to maximize its value

(Dr. Tanya Harrison Professional Martian. PhD Geoscientist at Planet Labs. Former operations team member for Opportunity, https://tanyaofmars.medium.com/its-time-to-reclaim-the-narrative-around-space-from-the-billionaires-5be46b35ffb9)

This morning, Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin launched four people into space, including Star Trek’s own Captain Kirk, William Shatner*. While this flight only lasted mere minutes, the impact on Shatner was abundantly clear as soon as he stepped out of the New Shepard crew capsule after touchdown. Bezos walked up to Shatner and asked how the experience was, to which he replied, “In a way, it’s indescribable.” And as he starts to try to articulate what was most unexpected to him… …Bezos turns away, interrupting him to pop a bottle of champagne and cheer. To me, this was such a clear proxy illustration of the disconnect between the idea of the billionaire space race, and what space means to those of us who have chosen it as our life’s passion, our careers. Shatner waited awkwardly for Bezos and others gathered around the capsule to finish spraying champagne before continuing to describe his experience. The impact was obviously profound: He talked about realizing how thin the dividing line between the comfort of Mother Earth and death in the blackness of space really is. “I’m so filled with emotion over what just happened,” he said through tears. His thoughts were rambling yet beautiful as he worked to voice them. “I hope I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it. It’s…it’s so much larger than me, than life. And it hasn’t got anything to do with little green men, and the blue orb, it doesn’t have anything to do with any of that. It has to do with the enormity, and the quickness, and the suddenness of life and death[…]the vulnerability of everything. It’s so small. This air that’s keeping us alive, it’s thinner than your skin. It’s a sliver. It’s immeasurably small when you think in terms of the universe.” These words had me and my space friends tearing up. Multiple group chat messages dinged with people expressing their awe of Shatner’s comments. It’s honestly not a reaction I was not expecting to have at this joyride flight for rich folks into space. But Shatner’s words unintentionally reflect why so many of us working in this sector care about space. Those of us who most certainly aren’t billionaires. We’re not in this for the money, or the prestige, or for our own personal legacy. It’s about understanding that Earth is unique and precious and we should be doing our damndest to protect it and ensure the survival of life on this planet—and potentially expanding beyond for that long-term survival. Satellites orbiting Earth help us monitor the weather, navigate the world, understand climate change, and even protect human rights. Satellites and rovers on other worlds help us put Earth into context in the universe, highlighting just how amazing our planet and the plethora of life in all forms, surviving in nearly every crevice here, truly is. Space has also long provided inspiration for people to see a future where humanity works together as a species. When Star Trek premiered in 1966, it presented an audacious future where gender, race, and even poverty were no longer social issues. Shortly after in 1969, the Apollo 11 Moon landing had folks around the world watching humanity take its first steps on another celestial body—something many probably never imagined would happen in their lifetimes. In interviewing people from around the world who watched the Moon landing live on television, or listened to it on the radio, for my book For All Humankind, the consistent message from them all was that they felt like this was a human achievement rather than simply an American one. They didn’t care about the politics of the Space Race. With no ties to the space industry, or even America at all, folks felt like this was a moment in history of which they were a part. This is the attitude around space we need to reclaim: The true desire to build a better future. The desire to understand, respect, and care for our home planet. We’re all crew members on Spaceship Earth, and as such we should all be personally invested in making sure the ship is running well and its crew is happy and healthy. At its core, that’s what using space to help life on Earth is really about, and why so many of us in the space sector are here. We can’t let the vitriolic narrative around space billionaires overtake this vision. Many of the criticisms around them are valid: They should be paying their fair share of taxes, and they should be treating their employees well, for example. But we need to separate the criticisms of those people and their businesses from the larger ideal of space. Because these few billionaires don’t represent us.