A space launch leaves us breathless, hopeful, excited and inspired. It always has. We watch with wonder, alive with the possibilities of life existing somewhere far from Earth.
And so we grieved this week when a SpaceX rocket exploded during fueling at its Cape Canaveral launchpad in Florida. It was the second failed mission by the space exploration company in little more than a year.
{mosads}Elon Musk’s SpaceX was fueling its unmanned rocket when the blast occurred Thursday morning. The company was preparing for a test firing, considered routine, in advance of a planned Saturday launch. The explosion destroyed the rocket and its payload: an Israeli satellite meant to be used in Facebook’s effort to provide Internet service to poorly connected areas in places across Africa.
Think about how global that plan was and is.
Part of why space efforts matter to those of us on Earth goes beyond the simple curiosity of science. Space is an arena, unlike Earth, where international diplomacy works. Part of what this mission might have achieved includes deliveries of supplies to the International Space Station, where astronauts of differing and often competing countries like Russia, China and the United States manage to agree on things in orbit that might divide us on land.
Science diplomacy might be the last great frontier where competition leads to conflict resolution for the simple fact of survival.
The SpaceX failure also reminds us of the increasing reliance we humans have on private companies to do what national governments ought to be doing. We miss NASA and the Shuttle when we see a private company carry materials and, at some point, people into space. It sounds great for a business to create cheap and routine space travel, but what if the private sector is not the best or only alternative to getting there? Can America afford to do what the private sector is trying to do? We should be investing in space as a national expenditure.
America and Americans love space. We are always looking through that telescope. And other nations share the passion and pride in leaping beyond the borders of their countries into the far reaches of the galaxy. Setbacks with space travel will happen. But steps ahead must still be envisioned for the sake of humanity.
Sonenshine is a former undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs. She lectures at George Washington University.
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