What I would do if I ruled space

What I mean by ruling space is if I had control over all space activities: NASA, the China National Space Administration, SpaceX, etc. all had to do my bidding.  If it goes into space – be it a military satellite, a science mission to the outer solar system, or scientists doing experiments on a space station – I have the final say.  If I – somehow – had that power, this is what I’d do.

One of the first things I’d do would be to have a review of all rockets.  To be blunt, not all rockets are equal.  This review would weed out the not so good ones.  Any rockets that release massive death clouds of toxic fumes if they fail will be phased out.  The remaining rockets would be ranked on things like: reliability, cost, launch rate, etc.  The idea would not be to cut things down to one or two rockets.  That’s a bad idea.  I’d say more like twenty or so, with different fuels and launch capacities. 

Some nations want to have their own rockets for national pride.  And that’s great and all, but is it really best to spend billions of dollars to reinvent the rocket when – if there is some power that lets you do this – you could spend a fraction of that to launch your payloads on already existing rockets?

I might also start work on a universal rocket.  Basically, this would be a set design that could be built in four or five factories in various countries around the world close to a launch pad.  This would make it easier for customers because they’d know exactly what they need to do for their satellites.  And then they’d just have to get it to whatever launch pad works best for whatever orbit they want.

Now that I have the rockets sorted out, where will people be going?  My first idea is to have several new space stations.  These would probably be of an expandable module type, and would be larger than the current ISS, with a crew of, probably ten.  They would be specialized, one for biomedical, one for material sciences, one for little bit of everything.  My idea is these would have a “home port” which would be the primary launch site for crew and supplies.  So if you were doing research on the biomedical station, you’d launch from Florida, but if you were doing materials research, you’d launch from a Chinese spaceport. 

There would also be orbital hotels, brothels, retirement homes, etc.  I’m sure there are plenty of ideas for zero-g sports, some of which might actually be fun, so there will be stadiums.  Once we get lots of people into orbit, there’s no telling what will be needed or developed.

I’d also work on stations in lunar orbit.  These would be part of my return to the moon to stay plan, which I think would be my main space focus.  The point would be to have multiple research stations across the lunar surface studying the moon itself as well as how best to live there.  That knowledge would led to larger bases and eventually cities.  The idea from the start would be for the moon to eventually become an independent nation(s).

And what of Mars?  I support the scientific exploration of Mars, but I don’t think we are ready for a crewed Mars mission.  When we can go for a couple of years with a self-sustaining life support system on a space station, then I’ll feel more comfortable.  And when we do get to Mars, I just see research stations, not cities.  I don’t buy into the whole we need to colonize Mars thing.  (See my book The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars for more details.) 

As to robotic missions, I think we should have orbiters around every planet, dwarf planet, major satellite, and big asteroid.  If there’s a surface a rover can survive on, there should be dozens of rovers.  There should also be missions to comets, interstellar objects, interstellar space itself.  And there should be dozens of telescopes for every wavelength, from gamma rays to radio waves. 

As ruler of space, I would do everything I could to get humanity the knowledge it needs to fully become a spacefaring civilization.  I think that would be the best thing anyone could do.  What would you do if you ruled space?

My thoughts on suborbital tourism

Meh.

In 2004 when SpaceShipOne flew into space, I was excited.  It felt like the dawn of a new era of spaceflight.  Soon thousands of people would have visited space.  In July 2008 I even wrote a story – One Can Hope – where writers were given seats on the twenty-fifth flight of Virgin Galactic (in March of 2011) in appreciation of their work in spreading the idea of commercial space.  It was an extremely long shot to get some notice and maybe win a ride someday, since somehow getting a free trip is the only way I’ll make it into space.  I was so interested in suborbital flight, that in 2010 I even donated $50 to Copenhagen Suborbitals. 

And then years passed.  I don’t know if I’ve grown wiser, or just more jaded, but I no longer see the grand future of suborbital tourism I once saw.  Before I figured thousands of people would take such hops into space.  Now I think only a couple hundred will, at most.

Back when I was about ten, there was an air show of some sort at the local airport.  For $50 or something, my parents and I even got to go up in a little Cessna.  I sat in the front and my parents sat in the back, and at one point the pilot offered to let me fly, but I was too scared to try.  My thinking of a decade ago, was that suborbital trips – while not like flying around in a Cessna for fifteen minutes – would become something well off families could do on a vacation.  Not anymore.

I don’t have the exact figures, but to me it feels like the price of a ticket for Virgin Galactic or Blue Origin to stay profitable limits them to only a few hundred passengers.  I used to have visions of weekly flights, but now if either of them gets to once a month, I’ll be surprised.  And I think part of why I’m no longer excited is because it seems like you could spend $X and float in space for a few minutes, or in a few years you could spend $100X for a week in an orbital hotel.  I thought suborbital trips would give these companies the experience to make orbital trips.  But SpaceX just skipped the suborbital stuff. 

My predictions for the future of suborbital trips is … bleak.  I expect Copenhagen Suborbitals to fly a few times.  And then their rocket and capsule will go into a museum.  I expect Virgin Galactic to make twenty to thirty flights over the next few years, and then quietly fade away.  I expect Blue Origin to “win” in that they will fly more often and for a longer time.  But the main reason I think that is because – I feel – they are set up better for microgravity experiments.  Companies and universities will want to test run their equipment to make sure it works before launching it to a commercial space station.  And I expect these experiment flights will keep Blue Origin going for another year or so before they shut down.  If anyone is still flying suborbitally in 2026, I’ll be surprised.  And anything beyond that will be in the Copenhagen Suborbitals style. 

I think the “failure” of suborbital tourism is because it took so long.  If Virgin Galactic had started flying ten years ago, it would have been a different story.  I remember years ago hearing that Virgin Galactic was working on an orbital version, but I guess that’s no longer the case.  I know rocket science isn’t easy, but if they had started flying ten years ago, maybe they could have developed an orbital version by now, really starting a new era in spaceflight.  But instead we have an interesting, but ultimately pointless side story of spaceflight.

Moon landing sale!

I am a big supporter of returning to the moon; I think it’s our best way of becoming a spacefaring civilization.  And even though it happened before I was born, I love Apollo 11, even thinking that July 20th should be a holiday.  So to mark this year’s anniversary, I’m having a sale on four of my ebooks.  Two of them deal with the moon, but I’m including the other two as a bonus.  So between Sunday July 18th and Thursday July 22nd, you’ll be able to get the following four ebooks for free.

The Moon Before Mars

 

Over the last few years a lot of people have caught Mars fever. It seems a week doesn’t go by without a report of some new group wanting to send people to Mars, or some big name in the industry talking about why we have to go to Mars, or articles talking about the glorious future humanity will have on Mars. All of this worries me. In my opinion, a Mars base is currently not sustainable because there’s no way for it to make money. A few missions may fly doing extraordinary science, but if it’s then cancelled for cost the whole Mars Project may just be seen as an expensive stunt.

Fortunately, there are other places in the solar system besides Mars. While bases on the moon and amongst the asteroids won’t be as inspirational as one on Mars, they will have opportunities for businesses to make goods and services as well as profits, meaning less chance of them being outright cancelled. This will make life better on Earth and secure a firm foothold in space for humanity. The essays in The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars allow me to describe my ideas on what can be accomplished on the moon and with the asteroids, and why Mars isn’t the destiny of humanity its cheerleaders make it out to be.

A Cabin Under a Cloudy Sea and other stories

 

Hopefully, in the not too distant future humans will return to the moon. We will build bases and colonies, make farms and factories, and live, love and learn. A Cabin Under a Cloudy Sea and other stories contains five short stories that are all set upon the moon. They give the tiniest glimpse of the possibilities awaiting us there.

Lonely Phoenix

 

Partway to a new colony world, board member Geoffrey Ames is woken from hibernation by the caretaking crew of the Lucian. They require him to look into the matter of their fellow crewman Morgan Heller. Morgan’s claims – such as being over 1500 years old – would normally land him in the psychiatric ward, except he can back up some of his other claims.

Brain for Rent and other stories

 

Brain for Rent and other stories is a collection of five of my short scifi stories to give a sampling of my writing. The collection includes: “Brain for Rent” about a ne’re-do-well failed writer with a conceptual implant who discusses his work with a young woman thinking of getting an implant herself. “The Demonstration” is about a different young woman wanting to show off her latest body modification. “Self Imprisonment” offers one solution of safe keeping the backup copy of yourself. “The Best Job Ever” is about a necessary – yet unpleasant – human/alien interaction. And the collection ends with “Why Stay?” which explains why, after years of fighting the humans, the robots just deactivate.

Short Story – “The Greater the Risk”

The Greater the Risk

“Enjoying the view?”

Sue Travis smiled.  Without turning around she said, “It’s the number one reason I took the job.”

Michael Wheeler floated up next to her and for several seconds they both watched the Andes gliding away far below them.  “It wasn’t,” he finally asked, “to handhold a bunch of snobby, nauseous tourists?”

With a smirk, Sue replied, “That was a close second.”

Michael returned the smirk and nodded.

“Mister Wheeler, I’m surprised you refer to the backbone of the company you and your brother recently bought a controlling share in as, ‘snobby, nauseous tourists.’”

“If we are questioning motives, Miss Travis, perhaps we should start with yours.  After two stints on the ISS, word is you were on the list – perhaps not the short-list but on the list nonetheless – to be picked to go to the moon.  Instead, you leave NASA to take up command of this dinky, little, commercial station.  Between experiments you play hostess to rich tourists getting a taste of space.” After a brief pause, Michael added, “Such as myself.”

Glancing out the view window, Sue saw they were now over the Caribbean and turned back to Michael.  “Just about everyone in the Astronaut Corps was on ‘The List,’ but my chances at being picked were … slim.  I’m better at running experiments in microgravity then exploring the lunar surface.  Besides, here I get six months on orbit each year, until I hit my radiation limits.  That’s far more flight time than I could get at NASA.  Plus, I do support NASA, but the future is in the commercial sector.  And an ex-astronaut taking command of this ‘dinky, little, commercial station’ has added an element of credibility to the company.  Has it not?”

“Indeed it has.” Michael smiled.  “So you believe the future belongs to the commercial sector?”

“Of course.”

“Do you believe part of that commercial future is exploration?”

Sue frowned.  “What do you mean?”

Glancing over his shoulder, Michael floated a little closer to her.  “How would you like to go to the moon?  Not to land, not even to orbit, just to swing around and come back to Earth.”

Her frown deepened.  “How?”

“In two weeks, a rocket will arrive to boost the station to a much higher orbit.” Placing a hand on his chest, Michael went on, “Now I am a business man, but my brother Tom is the engineer.  He has worked out that it would just be possible to use that rocket to put one of the station’s lifeboats onto a trajectory that will – eventually – swing it around the moon then back to Earth.  The lifeboats have enough supplies to keep six people alive for five days, so it should be enough to keep one person going for the twenty-seven days this trip to the moon and back will take.  It is extremely risky, but we need to show that there is more to us than just expensive vacations.”

For several seconds neither said anything.  “I have been watching you for the past few days,” Michael finally said.  “We were still working out the details three months ago, and since you’re not scheduled to land for another three months, we couldn’t wait to talk to you on the ground.  We had picked you as our number one choice, but we felt one of us should make the offer in person.”

Sue nodded.  “Of all your employees I have the most experience in space and am therefore best suited for such a colossal publicity stunt.”

Michael smiled.  “Precisely.  Next month NASA is finally returning to the moon after fifty-odd years.  And it’s taken them almost a decade to get to this point.  We don’t plan on stealing their thunder of landing on the moon, but we’d like to show what we can do with less than a year’s planning and existing equipment.  Yes, it will be a grand publicity stunt, but one that should increase public interest in the commercial sector.  And having an ex-astronaut make the trip will just make it even more news worthy.  So, have I piqued your interest?”

“I think,” Sue paused for a moment before continuing, “I think before I decide anything I would like to see your brother’s figures.”

***

I first wrote this story back in 2008 as part of my 30 Stories in 30 Days Challenge.  And then I kind of forgot about it.  That is, until 2017 when SpaceX announced their first plans on sending tourists around the moon.  I thought, Didn’t I write a story along those lines?  So I found this story and posted it again.  I’m posting it for a third time now, because the second time I posted it I had all the SpaceX stuff at the top, but that was like six SpaceX plans ago, and I figured if I put the story at the top it won’t get dated so quickly.  I also wanted to make some revisions. 

Fourth of July Sale!

 For the last several years, I’ve had a free sale for my ebook of political stories, Political Pies, around the Fourth of July.  Normally, I’d just have one ebook free at a time, but last year I started doing big sales with four or five at a time, which seemed to work better.  So here are the four ebooks that will be free to download from Thursday July 1st, through Monday July 5th.  So grab them before you get too drunk.

Political Pies

 

Everybody complains about politics, but does anyone do anything about it? My attempt to do something about it is to collect forty of my short stories with a political element into this anthology. The stories are either politically neutral or equally condemning of the national parties. Instead of trying to sway you to one ideology or another, my goal is to just get people thinking about politics in the hopes a rose might grow out of all the political manure.

The Future is Coming

 

As a science fiction writer, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how technology will change the way we live. I’ve come up with these ten short essays about science fictional elements that will – almost certainly – one day become science fact as a way for people to start coming to terms with them. Because I’ve spent time thinking about clones and AIs, I feel I’ll be okay when they do finally show up whereas most people will probably freak out. I hope these essays will get people to start thinking about the future because, no matter what we do, the future is coming.

Duty

 

Who cleans up the mess when the time machine malfunctions?

Rise

“Rise” is a standalone story set in my Human Republic Universe. The story follows the events after the tragic deaths of the colonists on a small colony in a distant star system.