So far, we have described all of the spaceships and equations needed to operate and maintain a substantial cislunar tourism program. Normally, the next step would be to describe the spaceport facilities and the orbital space station. However, we have left out the most important ingredient of all, which will now be addressed by this chapter, since it effects the order in which the various components of our space tourism program are assembled.
This vital ingredient can be summed up by the Standard Rocket Science Joke:
Q: What makes rockets fly?A: Funding.
This unfortunate axiom must be addressed before any space mission can ever leave the ground.
An excellent example of this phenomenon in action is the Lockheed VentureStar. Back at the close of the 20th century, engineers had completed the design of the X–33 proof–of–concept vehicle (Image 1) of the VentureStar and were in the middle of construction when the program was canceled due to a lack of continuous funding. It is true that some technical issues needed to be resolved, and at the time it seemed insurmountable. However, these technical issues would have eventually been resolved. The VentureStar would have been an excellent replacement for the U.S. Space Shuttle, but was not, having been decreed to be too expensive to build.
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| Image 1: The X-33 (left) Proof-of-Concept space vehicle |
However, going into space was and is always going to be very expensive.
The essential question thus becomes: where will the startup money come from for our adventures in outer space?
There exist three different possible funding streams, each one effecting the order of assembly.
- Government
- Billionaire Individual(s)
- Crowdfunding
The problem with government funding is that the parts of the whole are subjected to local politics, which in turn increases costs. This is true for any nation on planet Earth, not just the U.S.
The problem with billionaire benefactors is that they are hyper–focused on profit, and would be more interested in stock buybacks than in a vision of a grand utopian future. This is true for the vast majority of billionaires.
The problem with crowdfunding is that it involves many people who expect something in return for their generosity. In our case, T–Shirts and ballcaps are not going to be enough. We would have to find something else that is tantalizing enough to get people's attention.
The first two options are non–starters, which leaves crowdfunding as the only choice.
This option requires a different approach to the program. Most of the space hardware will be needed in order to give crowdfunding investors something worthwhile for their money.
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