(Las Vegas) The presentation of a full-size model of Sierra Space’s “space plane” at the annual Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week is proof of the advent of the era of a space market, with its dizzying potential and the risks it implies.
At a time when more and more private companies are interested in space, experts in the sector believe that this trend will give birth to many technological advances but with the almost certain prospect that space disasters will occur and that lives will be lost.
Sierra Space, a subsidiary of the company Sierra Nevada, wants its nine-meter spacecraft, dubbed “Dream Chaser”, to carry out its first missions this year, the reusable machine being the keystone of its stellar ambitions.
“Previously, only governments could do this. Now ordinary human beings can go to space, ”Neeraj Gupta, head of space destinations at Sierra Nevada, told AFP.
The mini-shuttle was designed to transport people and equipment to and from commercial space facilities that the company plans to build in the next 8-10 years, including a system of inflatables intended to accommodate humans in orbit.
Sierra Nevada has signed an agreement with NASA for unmanned flights to the International Space Station scheduled to begin in 2022 and is working with Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin to develop a trading post in space.
“We are really watching the opening of a market to bring more and more people into space,” says Neeraj Gupta.
Space-related business projects are emerging at a breakneck pace and receiving much attention, especially rocket launches from SpaceX, a company founded by Elon Musk, which transport astronauts on behalf of NASA. .
Last year, Jeff Bezos’ space trip, aboard a rocket from his own company, in turn sparked fascination and a shower of outraged criticism of the “space race” by these billionaires. .
Space risks
Beyond tourism, space is now seen as a new commercial horizon to be taken seriously.
In Las Vegas, a video shows an unmanned model of Sierra Space’s “space plane” returning to Earth and landing on a runway like any airliner.
Many companies had already looked at more or less far-fetched ideas such as asteroid mining or biomedical applications, but until five years ago the idea of producing something in space and to bring him back to Earth did not make sense, details Mason Peck, professor of astronautics at Cornell University.
“Now there are companies that are really studying this question: how can I make money in space? “, He confirms to AFP.
“That was never the way people saw the interest in space. It was always linked to something deeper, such as the benefit for man, humanity or that of science, ”he continues.
But the lure of profit has the power to greatly accelerate productivity and technological advancements, much more than the slow and thoughtful approach of NASA or the European Space Agency.
“More capital is being invested in the space industry. The technology improves, the costs fall so everyone benefits from it, ”analyzes Mike Gruntman, professor of astronautics at the University of Southern California.
These efforts are in line with NASA’s policy of stimulating a US-dominated commercial economy in low earth orbit.
But the prospect of an increase in space activity on the part of private companies could also generate real risks.
“There will surely be a time when there will be tragedy, death and destruction because of this as it always does. There are many car accidents, collapsing bridges, derailed trains, ”warns Mason Peck.
“The next William Shatner we send into space might not come back… and it will be appalling. But that’s no reason not to do it, ”he concludes, referring to the actor playing the iconic Captain Kirk of the series. Star trek, who traveled to space in October aboard a Blue Origin rocket.