The Benefits of Space Technology

As far back as the Apollo era, there have been discussion of the benefits of space technology and the spin-offs from space exploration (remember Tang?). It's pretty clear now that we can't abandon space; although there are complaints about the money spent on specific programs, we depend on things like GPS, weather and communication satellites, and remote sensing.

The paper, "How space technology benefits the Earth" lists 29 benefits from space exploration and development, grouped into three catagories:

• Space activities having a positive impact today (such as Earth observation for weather and climate)
• Space activities that could have a positive impact in the next 5 to 20 years (such as communications satellite megaconstellations)
• Space activities that could have a positive impact in the more distant future (such as widespread space manufacturing and industrialization)

It's a pretty comprehensive list, although we may not live to see some of the acitivities mentioned in the third category.