Beating Swords Into Ploughshares

Many people see much of the military spending governments do as an economic dead end. They argue that much of the equipment purchased in military and naval programs cannot be used in economically productive ways, so the capital spent on it, from an economic perspective, is simply wasted. With the advance of technology and a general lessening of major power tension around the world, however, that's becoming less true. Satellite imaging of Earth is now commercial, for example. De-commissioned submarines are just beginning to be used for commercial and scientific underwater exploration. Tiny satellites may well give older jet fighters new civilian missions, too.

Advances in technology has fostered a revolution in satellite design. Now, for many purposes, satellites weighing only a few pounds which can be built in weeks or months are just as capable-- if not more so-- as the large satellites that eat up years and money from design to deployment. Because the new satellites are so small and inexpensive they open opportunities for research and commercial projects to a wider spectrum of users. Some see the smallsat and nanosat market booming over the coming decade, establishing the area as an important part of opening space. Interorbital Systems, with its Cubesat and Tubesat programs to be launched on its Neptune modular launch system, seems to be an early pacesetter, with contracts to fly projects for universities and other groups from around the world.

While IOS will use a rocket booster to fly several smallsats at once-- thus keeping costs per project down-- other companies are looking at different delivery methods. Virgin Galactic, for example, plans to launch smallsats from its WhiteKnightTwo mothership. Another group plans to launch from jet fighters no longer in service. Instead of releasing missiles to knock other aircraft out of the sky, the ex-fighters will, perhaps literally, aim higher, releasing an upper stage rocket that will then carry tiny probes on suborbital flights or even into orbit.