Waking up on a "New Space" day

At 07:44 GMT, a Falcon 9 rocket flew out of Cape Canaveral and put its Dragon capsule in orbit.. Watching on NASA TV, the excitement of the team was shared with everyone. Launches are nerve-wracking; just three days earlier, the launch had to be scrubbed because of a minor engine malfunction. Relief burst out when the Dragon was in orbit and its solar panels deployed successfully. On TV, the CEO of the rocket's builder was seen running around the control room giving out hugs. I did a little air-pump and went to bed.

There's more to the story than just a successful launch, though. This Dragon spacecraft is headed for the International Space Station--the first non-government vehicle ever permitted to rendezvous with ISS. Dragon's approach to the ISS will start on Thursday.

When I woke up this morning, I realized that it was important to start talking about how we got here--and what is coming. I've been developing "New Space" concepts and hardware for over ten years. Most people have no idea of the revolution that is upon us. CNN had an article on the launch this morning, but unless you were a space geek like me, you didn't know you could watch it. They're talking about commercial space flight as the "new paradigm." But let's also talk about robots, about refueling on orbit, about adaptable space systems, and about using space to help humanity with its resource challenges.

New waves in the human experience happen because there is an economic driver. After Columbus' voyages to the Western Hemisphere, people only returned for gold and more room to expand. Living off government expenditures is not the recipe for success--in space, or anywhere else. "New Space" will combine technologies and put them to work for economic growth and the common good. This is "Rule Number One" of New Space.

With cooperation between governments, industry and science, we'll also be able to do MORE science missions and MORE exploration than we ever could do before--because growth in the sector will make it possible. First there were cars; THEN there were gas stations; THEN there were interstate highways.

It's exciting to be on this ride.