SpaceX corporation founded by PayPal founder Elon Musk is preparing for it's first rendesvous flight to the International Space Station in November. The privatization initiative started by the Bush Administration as an adjunct to the Orion program was changed by the Obama Administration to being the only path to space for Americans. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-15-18-55-31 http://www.spacex.com/company.php Private space flight is becoming a reality.
It's not only a reality, it is a necessity. The only way that Space can be properly exploited is by private commerical organizations designed from the beginning to do so. NASA and Government have done the basic ground work for manned spaceflight and long duration stays. Now they are concentrating on propulsion ,mechanics and mapping and allowing the Private Sector to develop the rest as needed. Of course I'm sure in a few decades we'll have radical Space Environmentalists claiming it's immoral to mine a rock in space.
I have absolutely no doubt about that. They will be talking about the possibility of disturbing "life precursors"! It's already in the science fiction lexicon. It was a featuired point in "Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan"
