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ABSTRACT
Formerly a solely government sphere, space is now an attractive frontier for private companies. As research and production costs were unreachable for private actors in the past, only government agencies such as NASA, could afford the development of their space program, with participation from private companies through contracting for design and manufacturing. Today, companies, such as Blue Origin and SpaceX are privately developing different aspects of the space industry and making the topic of cooperation between government agencies and private companies for commercial services relevant. Despite the new programs that private companies are bringing to life, such as space tourism and space launch, a major part of their activity is related to cooperation with NASA. The structure of this article consists of several parts, beginning with a brief overview of the types of space companies. This is followed by a history of private space companies and the economic aspect of public-private cooperation, and finally the military-diplomatic effects of this cooperation. After decades of coexisting and collaborating, the new model whereby NASA only places orders and private companies provide commercial services is the one that is the most cost-effective.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 “Government Agency Definition and Meaning | Collins English Dictionary,” Collinsdictionary.Com. January 24, 2021, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/government-agency
2 “Commercial Space Activities,” Space Policy Online, January 24, 2021, https://www.spacepolicyonline.com/topics/commercial-space-activities/
3 Ibid.
4 Thomas Candrea, “NASA – NASA's Commercial Crew Program Progressing for Future of U.S. Human Spaceflight,” 2012, Nasa.Gov. January 24, 2021, https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/ccicap-announcement.html
5 “Commercial Space Activities,” Space Policy Online, https://www.spacepolicyonline.com/topics/commercial-space-activities/ (accessed January 24, 2021).
6 “SpaceX Launches Four Astronauts To International Space Station,” (2020) NBC News, January 24, 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacex-launches-four-astronauts-international-space-station-n1247881
7 “Commercial Space Activities,” Space Policy Online, January 25, 2021, https://www.spacepolicyonline.com/topics/commercial-space-activities/
8 Ibid.
9 “A Brief History of Space Exploration | The Aerospace Corporation,” (2018), Aerospace.Org. https://aerospace.org/article/brief-history-space-exploration (accessed January 25, 2021).; “NASA History Overview,” 2018, NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-history-overview (accessed January 25, 2021).
10 Chad Anderson, and Kelsey Tollefson, “Space Capital: Insights: The History of Achieving 99% Commercial Launch Success Rates,” 2018, Space Capital | Insights, www.spacecapital.com/publications/the-history-of-achieving-99-commercial-launch-success-rates (accessed January 25, 2021).; “NASA History Overview,” 2018, NASA., https://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-history-overview (accessed January 25, 2021).
11 Chad Anderson, and Kelsey Tollefson, “Space Capital: Insights: The History of Achieving 99% Commercial Launch Success Rates,” 2018, Space Capital | Insights, www.spacecapital.com/publications/the-history-of-achieving-99-commercial-launch-success-rates (accessed January 25, 2021).
12 Ibid.
13 “A Brief History of Space Exploration | The Aerospace Corporation,” 2018, Aerospace.Org., https://aerospace.org/article/brief-history-space-exploration (accessed January 25, 2021).
14 Ibid.
15 Clinton Parks, “Historic 2004 SpaceShipOne Flight Starts A New Space Era – SpaceNews,” 2007, SpaceNews, https://spacenews.com/historic-2004-spaceshipone-flight-starts-new-space-era/ (accessed January 25, 2021).
16 “Blue Origin,” Space.Com. https://www.space.com/topics/blue-origin (accessed January 25, 2021).; Alison Eldridge, “SpaceX | Spacecraft, Rockets, & Facts,” 2020. Encyclopedia Britannica., https://www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceX (accessed January 25, 2021).; Taylor Telford, “To the NYSE and Beyond: Virgin Galactic Becomes First Public Space Tourism Company,” 2019. The Washington Post., https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/28/virgin-galactic-takes-space-tourism-public-with-historic-nyse-listing/ (accessed January 27, 2021).
17 Steven J. Markovich, Andrew Chatzky, and Anshu Siripurapu, “Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness,” 2020. Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/space-exploration-and-us-competitiveness (accessed January 29, 2021).
18 Space, Capital, “Space Capital: Insights: US Government Support of the Entrepreneurial Space Age,” 2019 Space Capital | Insights, www.spacecapital.com/publications/us-government-support-of-entrepreneurial-space-age-nasa-jpl (accessed January 29, 2021).
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Space Capital, “Space Capital: Insights: US Government Support of the Entrepreneurial Space Age,” 2019, https://spacecapital.docsend.com/view/zgbff2a (accessed January 29, 2021).
22 Planetary Society, “Your Guide to NASA's Commercial Crew Program,” 2020, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/commercial-crew (accessed January 29, 2021).
23 Ibid.
24 Elizabeth Howell, “SpaceX's Dragon: First Private Spacecraft to Reach the Space Station,” 2020, Space.com, Space, https://www.space.com/18852-spacex-dragon.html (accessed January 29, 2021).
25 Michael Sheetz, “How NASA Is Evolving through Partnerships with Private Space Companies,” 2019. CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/30/how-nasa-is-evolving-through-partnerships-with-private-space-companies.html (accessed January 31, 2021).
26 Josh Dinner, “Is SLS Worth the Cost? NASA's New Megarocket Comes with a Mega Price Tag,” 2022, Space.com https://www.space.com/artemis-1-space-launch-system-rocket-cost
27 Kenneth Chang, “SpaceX Lifts NASA Astronauts to Orbit, Launching New Era of Spaceflight,” 2020, New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/science/spacex-nasa-astronauts.html (accessed January 31, 2021).
28 Bryce Space and Technology, “Start-Up Space Report. Update on Investment in Commercial Space Ventures,” 2020, Space and Technology Publication, pg. 7.
29 Ibid.
30 Jackie Wattles, “SpaceX Just Launched Paying Customers to the ISS. Here's Everything You Need to Know,” 2022, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/08/tech/spacex-iss-launch-friday-scn/index.html (accessed January 31, 2021).
31 Michael Sheetz, “How SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and Others Compete in the Growing Space Tourism Market,” 2020, CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/26/space-tourism-how-spacex-virgin-galactic-blue-origin-axiom-compete.html (accessed January 31, 2021).
32 Jackie Wattles, “Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson Went to Space. What's next?” 2021, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/21/tech/jeff-bezos-richard-branson-space-what-next-scn/index.html (accessed July 23, 2021).
33 Sandra Erwin, “Space Force Thinking About NASA-Style Partnerships with Private Companies,” 2020, SpaceNews, https://spacenews.com/space-force-thinking-about-nasa-style-partnerships-with-private-companies/(accessed July 23, 2021).
34 Sandra Erwin, “Pentagon Picks SpaceX and ULA to Remain its Primary Launch Providers,” 2020, SpaceNews, https://spacenews.com/pentagon-picks-spacex-and-ula-to-launch-national-security-satellites-for-next-five-years/ (accessed July 23, 2021).
35 Sandra Erwin, “Space Force Sees Room for More Competitors in National Security Launch,” 2020, SpaceNews, https://spacenews.com/space-force-sees-room-for-more-competitors-in-national-security-launch/(accessed July 23, 2021).
36 Sandra Erwin, “SpaceX Wins $102 Million Air Force Contract to Demonstrate Technologies for Point-to-Point Space Transportation” 2022, SpaceNews, https://spacenews.com/spacex-wins-102-million-air-force-contract-to-demonstrate-technologies-for-point-to-point-space-transportation/ (accessed July 23, 2021).
37 NASA, “As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon,” 2021, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/as-artemis-moves-forward-nasa-picks-spacex-to-land-next-americans-on-moon(accessed July 23, 2021).
38 Sarah Jackson, “A Government Watchdog Just Rejected Jeff Bezos’ Protest of NASA Awarding a Lunar Lander Contract to SpaceX Alone,” 2021, Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-loses-protest-of-nasas-spacex-lunar-lander-contract-2021-7 (accessed July 23, 2021).
39 Jeff Foust, “NASA Selects Five Companies for Lunar Lander Studies,” 2021, SpaceNews, https://spacenews.com/nasa-selects-five-companies-for-lunar-lander-studies/ (accessed July 23, 2021).
40 Tariq Malik, “Russia Says It Will Launch 2 Tourists into Orbit for Space Adventures in 2021, “2019, Space.Com, https://www.space.com/russia-launching-space-tourists-2021.html (accessed February 2, 2021).
41 Bryce Space and Technology, “Start-Up Space Report. Update on Investment in Commercial Space Ventures,” 2020, Space and Technology Publication, pg.35, https://brycetech.com/reports/report-documents/Bryce_Start_Up_Space_2020.pdf (accessed July 23, 2021).
42 Ibid.