I have always appreciated the game of baseball as a true meritocracy. Particularly in today’s world of extreme analysis, what was once a somewhat subjective judgment of a player’s superior performance is now objectively reflected by myriad fine-tuned statistics. And yet, no matter how talented the numbers say a single player is, games are always won or lost by teams. Only through a team effort can success be achieved.
This is a lesson as true for the space industry as it is on a baseball diamond.
Over the years, space advocates on both sides of the “government” or “commercial” debate have spent far too much time attacking each other when we should be collaborating to build a better future for our nation and the world. As someone who has had the good fortune to participate in some of NASA’s triumphs, I have learned first-hand that space is a team sport — one that demands unity.
It has been gratifying to see the Biden administration send signals for that unity and provide the continuity of purpose required for beyond-low-Earth-orbit human spaceflight programs to succeed. Its swift endorsement of the Artemis program has reassured both commercial and international partners that America’s Moon-to-Mars strategy is stable and will succeed. It’s now up to the industry to do its part.
Space advocates must unite to ensure that the goals of Artemis, from establishing a sustainable presence on and around the moon to developing the experience and technologies necessary to land the first humans on Mars, are achieved with alacrity. This can only be done if the space industry resists the counterproductive urge to fight itself, and instead supports space development in a holistic fashion. We must not fall into the trap of false dichotomies. The question is not government or commercial; the solution is government and commercial.
NASA and the government have a vital role to play in pushing the boundaries of space exploration and science into unchartered territory. At the same time, NASA makes critical contributions as both a catalyst and a customer for commercial capabilities, and has benefited enormously from innovative, efficient, and affordable commercial systems. While it is the government’s role to blaze trails into the unknown, it is the function of commercial enterprise to work in its wake to create new markets, industries, and jobs. Striking the right balance is key, and the unique attributes of both government and the private sector must be properly harnessed in tandem to achieve the future in space for which we are all striving.
This spirit of unity was captured by the Senate NASA Authorization Act of 2020 which recognized the inherent value of both government and commercial enterprises. By combining the best of what the public and private sectors have to offer, the bill received unanimous support from the Senate. In today’s hyper-partisan and fractured political climate, such unanimity is all too rare.
An architect of the Senate’s bipartisan approach to space exploration and development was former senator and now NASA Administrator nominee Bill Nelson. Sen. Nelson has been an ardent supporter of not only traditional programs but also commercial space initiatives. For example, Sen. Nelson co-authored the bipartisan Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, a comprehensive update to space law that supported the commercial use of resources on the Moon and asteroids. His work across the aisle also resulted in the Transition Authorization Act of 2017, which reinforced support for NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo programs and endorsed the commercialization of low Earth orbit. Moreover, much earlier in his career, then-Rep. Nelson was a champion and original co-sponsor of the Commercial Space Launch Act, which enabled the robust domestic commercial launch industry that we enjoy today.
My own career reflects the benefits of merging government expertise with innovative commercial activities. As an astronaut I had the privilege of serving with and learning from some of America’s greatest space experts and leaders. Subsequently, I was able to leverage that experience and expand on it as the president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
Soon my journey will come full circle as I return to space, this time as the leader of Ax-1 — the first fully private mission to the International Space Station. The mission is itself a symbolic blend of government and commercial achievements.
I have great confidence that if the infighting and wrangling that has occurred during previous periods of transition can be avoided, this nation and its international partners will return to the moon in preparation for a historic human mission to Mars. Together, we can transform the space industry’s field of dreams into reality.
Michael Lopez-Alegria, a Space Shuttle astronaut and International Space Station commander, is the former president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. He is now a consultant based in Washington, D.C.
