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…even before NASA existed, leading space scientist/engineer Krafft A. Ehricke proposed developing near-Earth space with Earth-serving satellites. Then in a 1970 presentation called “Geospace Development,” he introduced the concept of space industrialization. While many ideas about space can be attributed to the earliest science fiction and hardware designs, Ehricke was the first to seriously study and propose space industrialization and its many elements as a systematic, strategic and necessary program. Ehricke urged NASA to undertake the industrialization of space instead of manned Mars exploration as the next step after Apollo. This would be the beginning of ever-advancing space utilization. All in collaboration with the industrialized nations, and prioritized to benefit mankind. It was and is doable, given a reasonably rational world. |