Commercialization of Space & Spectrum Policy

"Today is space time and man is going to explore it.”  

Consider how the world would be different if the greatest generation in the 1960's would not have invested in Space Technology.

At the 06/12/2018 Spectrum Policy Symposium

https://www.ntia.doc.gov/other-publication/2018/06122018-spectrum-policy-symposium-webcast-archive

https://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/transcript-ntia-spectrum-policy-symposium-06122018.pdf

The commercialization of space was highlighted

SECRETARY WILBUR ROSS: thanks also to the panelists and speakers for your commitment to advancing our high-tech industries like telecommunications and commercialization of space. The United States leads the world in these industries, and the Commerce Department is committed to fortifying that leadership. On May 24th, President Trump issued a directive aimed at taking additional steps to maintain and extend the nation's global leadership in commercial space activity. Space is already a $340 billion business and may soon be a trillion-dollar business.

Paige Atkins Associate Administrator at US Department of Commerce, NTIA said “But we have to remember that people are not just consumers; we are also citizens. And great spectrum policy means that I can look you in the eye and say, When you get on that plane today, you'll make it to your destination safely. I can talk to a mother or father that's watching a hurricane come barreling toward their city and tell them that we'll give them enough notice that they can protect their family. We can assure the American public that we continue to watch the skies to help prevent additional terrorist attacks. And as another example, in space research, we not only can see photos of Pluto from three billion miles away, but it also helps us answer fundamental questions, such as how is the earth changing and what are the consequences for life on earth today and, more importantly, for our children and grandchildren for decades to come. [00:48:25] Those are some of the implications of our spectrum policy work for our nation's citizens. The entire combination of benefits that result from our policy work is really what makes the United States a great place to live and a world leader in technology”

I wrote the following blog: Solving the World’s Problems – R&D – The Next Moonshot that highlighted Charles F. Ducander - Practical Values of Space Exploration presented to the 86th Congress on July 5, 1960

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/solving-worlds-problems-rd-next-moonshot-doug-hohulin/

“Mark Twain once listened to the complaints of an old riverboat pilot who was having trouble making the switch from sail to steam. The old pilot wanted no part of the newfangled steam contraptions. "Maybe so," replied Twain, "but when it's steamboat time, you steam." --- Today is space time and man is going to explore it.” Charles F. Ducander - Practical Values of Space Exploration presented to the 86th Congress on July 5, 1960. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/19911/19911-h/19911-h.htm

This report was a call for investment into the new Space frontier in the early 1960s but as the following quote highlights, many people question these types of investments:

"What do sputniks give to a person like me?" a Russian workman complained in a letter which Pravda published on its front page. "So much money is spent on sputniks it makes people gasp. If there were no sputniks the Government could cut the cost of cloth for an overcoat in half and put a few electric flatirons in the stores. Rockets, rockets, rockets. Who needs them now?"

When you are hungry, it is hard to set aside your seed corn for next year’s crops but if you do not, you will be satisfied in the short term but starve in the long term. 

For anyone interested in solving some of the world’s hardest problems, I would encourage you to read this report written in 1960. Consider the challenges the engineers and scientists faced in 1960, consider what was predicted and what benefits space technology has brought to the world. Consider how the world would be different if the greatest generation in the 1960's would not have invested in space technology. This report shows how space technology was a game changer for our world. I believe we are poised for a similar game changer in the next 10 to 15 years in solving some of the world’s greatest problems. 

The report begins:

“The United States has not embarked upon its formidable program of space exploration in order to make or perpetuate a gigantic astronautic boondoggle. There are good reasons, hard reasons for this program. But, in essence, they all boil down to the fact that the program is expected to produce a number of highly valuable payoffs. It not only is expected to do so, it is doing so right now.

….

Practical uses such as those just listed mean the taxpayer is more than getting his money's worth from American space exploration—and getting a sizable chunk of it today.

Nevertheless, if we can depend on the history of scientific adventure and progress, on its consistent tendencies of the past, then we can be reasonably sure that the greatest, finest benefits to come from our ventures into space are yet unseen.

These are the unpredictable values, the ones which none of us has yet thought of.

Inevitably they lag behind the basic research discoveries needed to make them possible, and often the discoveries are slow to be put to work after they are made. Investors, even governments, are human, and before they invest in something they normally want to know: What good is it?

We can be sure that many American taxpayers of the future will be asking "what good is it?" in regard to various phases of the space program.

There was an occasion when the great Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell, was asked this question concerning one of his classic discoveries in electromagnetism. Maxwell replied: "What good is a baby?" Now, as then, it takes time for new knowledge to develop and become useful after its conception and birth.”

I spoke at a daylong technology workshop in in Jefferson City MO to State and local CIO. I was asked to talk 50 minutes on 5G and AV at this event. One focus is on the economic benefits of 5G and AV. 

I wrote this blog in preparation to the talk 

We Choose this Race: How 5G and AV Can Help Humanity. 

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/we-choose-race-how-5g-av-can-help-humanity-doug-hohulin/?published=t

The elimination of all road deaths in the next 25 years should be a shared challenge that humanity is "willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.”

I am calling this AV YEAR 2043 - 25 Years from Now? Plus or Minus 10 Years (2033 – 2053) – What will it take:

• Industry Investment
• Society Acceptance
• Government Regulation
• MPO / ITS Engagement

When I look at information from RethinkX Tony Seba, GM, Tesla, Ford and others, I think we can get there by the early 2030s (the voice of the wizards) . When I attend meetings with people from the DoTs / Road Operators (as part of the KC Metro AV Task Force) and they discuss all the challenges of the road systems today, I wonder if the 2050s is more accurate (the voice of the prophets).

See this blog: Ad astra per aspera - vel technologias; a vision of the future by a Rational Sanguine Futurist who is working to be a Wizard

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/ad-astra-per-aspera-vel-technologias-vision-future-rational-doug/

based on the book: The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World by Charles C. Mann

Rather than having wars (hot, cold, cyber, flame or trade), I want to promote races (like the race to space, 5G, Autonomous Vehicles and Ninja Warriors) – shared races where humanity “stands face to face” with the common goal to promote peace and prosperity for all.

The Space Race between the US and Russia in the 1950s-1970s, brought so much scientific and economic benefit to the World and Encourage Humanity to Look to the Stars with the Shared Goal of Peace and Prosperity, Can the 5G and AV Race between the US, China and other Countries bring Similar Benefits to Humanity in the 2020s? 

Partnering to develop the business case and funding process to make it happen is critical.  Humanity did not stop sending men or women to the moon because we did not lack the technology to go to the moon but because, we could not find the will and the economic benefit to reach for the stars.  “America's wireless companies are ready to invest $275B into building 5G network infrastructure.  5G technology will ensure self-driving cars reduce emissions by up to 90%, cut travel time by 40%, and save 22,000 lives annually. 5G will save $450B annually in transportation costs.” 5G and AV technology may be one way to help our society to find the technology, the will and the economic benefit to achieve the elimination of all road deaths. 

To paraphrase JFK, We Are Going to Do This, “not because it is easy, but because it is hard; because this goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.”

Here’s to a safer, peaceful and productive world,