THE business community holds the key to making space travel commonplace in our lifetimes, according to John “Mike” Lounge, Director of Business Development for Boeing Co.’s Space Exploration Systems.
“The biggest obstacle fight now isn’t technology,” said Lounge, who was attending the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2007 Conference & Exposition in Long Beach last week. “It’s investment.”
Lounge said it would not be easy getting business on board NASA’s Constellation Program, which he’s working on, and others like it. The program’s aim is to find ways to transport humans and cargo to the moon, the International Space Station and eventually, Mars.
“The last time we were looking at a ‘final frontier’ sort of situation in this country was the era of the railroad. Business got involved only when the government cut some sweetheart deals, which basically gave the railroads access to thousands and thousands of miles. That isn’t likely to happen today.”
It will take someone or some business willing to bet big on success in space, and that will tricky given how risk-averse most major corporate boards are today, Lounge said.
“It’s going to take real leadership, in government as well as in business,” said Lounge, a former astronaut who made three space shuttle trips, including one on Discovery in 1988, the first after the Challenger tragedy.
“My hope is that we’re able to put together a program that excites this generation as much as the programs 50 years ago inspired me.”
Well-Schooled
