Why in news?

NASA’s and SpaceX have collaborated and launched many satellites along with sending astronauts to space station.This collaboration of public and private entity in space technology has increased the pace of exploring more and more.

India & Space Technology

• India is also on the same track allowing ISRO to launch satellite and use few private entity services.
• There has also been a shift from a mandated focus on utilitarian projects to those focused on exploring space and our planetary neighbours, the Moon, the Sun and so on.
• It is not too much to expect that soon, India may also see the emergence of collaborations like that between SpaceX and NASA.

Commercialisation of the space sector

• India is seeing the gradual yielding of governmental control over the space industry, starting from hiring of vendors and active outsourcing of rocket components to the present idea of allowing external agencies to use ISRO facilities.
• The collaboration between NASA and SpaceX is remarkable because it has in fact taken the American space programme to a level that had not been possible for NASA to achieve by itself.
• Having their own rockets to transport astronauts to the International Space Station and back has prevented Americans from spending hugely on the mission, as they were doing earlier.
• This was possible only because of NASA’s active collaboration with SpaceX.
• Thus, the opening up of the space sector could have many more such advancements in store.

What is the future of space tourism?

• Space tourism could become more common as space travel becomes less expensive.
• There are companies now, such as Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX, that will offer space flights, albeit for a very high fee.
• While the first two may allow the customer to experience a few minutes of only microgravity, the last company can, in principle, take space travellers to the International Space Station, where they could spend even weeks.
• This is the stepping-stone to a future colony on the Moon, and should it come through, we will not be without Internet connections there.

Source: The Hindu