The major obstacle to transitioning from life only on the earth to life in space is - money!

Of course there is still much research that is needed to make it possible to live in space, but we would be a lot closer to realizing that goal if we had more money.

Thus a major goal of developing life in space would be to make it economically self-sufficient as soon as possible.

But probably life in space will always require a large amount of government subsidy, but this might be a good thing - requiring unprecedented cooperation not only between government and industry, but also between governments - eventually possibly leading someday to a single universal government for all intelligent life.

• 1. Subsidized space on the International Space Station for private industrial use (including research) to facilitate the ISS evolving gradually into a full function Major Near-Planet Station.
• 2. Subsidized space on the moon for private and government industrial usage including mining to build up the first long-term non-earth surface industrial facilities focused initially on mining, storage, and transport of raw materials for eventually manufacturing on the moon and in earth/moon orbit (space station).
• 3. The development of this moon station would include development of the first long-term non-earth surface living facilities.
• 4. Development on the Space Station of trash processing facilities readying it for dumping into the sun. This would eventually include nuclear trash from earth. Eventually this facility would be transferred to Major Near-Solar Stations.
• 5. Development of the low energy inexpensive launching facility.
• 6. Development of mining, storage and communications/transportation facilities on nearby planets (and their moons) and asteroids as first step in development of non-earth Major and Minor On-Planet and Near-Planet facilities.
• 7. Development of first Inter-Solar Stations to facilitate interaction between planets and their star.
• 8. Development of additional Stations determined by industrial needs equally with research needs so as to facilitate space development paying for itself as much as possible, although probably space-life will always be a heavily government subsidized operation requiring lots of cooperation not only between private industry and government, but also between governments.
• 9. Development of huge planet-size industrial space stations independent of the earth and located more adjacent to materials source (possibly asteroid belt) or energy source (the sun). The earth would thus become free of all industrial and mining activity as those activities became fully fulfilled in non-earth space. Thus the earth would become truly a location dedicated only to recreation, research only in earth processes, retirement, spiritual exercise, education and the death process.

GOTO: (Intro) (Life in Space) (Space Launch & Travel) (Stages of Development) (Conclusion)

COMMENTS: All comments are welcomed. Please email them to [email protected].

(C) David A. Kirshbaum (2005)