For over 60 years, the trajectory of the United State’s space sector has exhibited sustained advancement and evolutionary growth. Now, conversations of space are dominated by corporate giants like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos instead of traditional governmental entities, reshaping the narratives of space exploration and innovation. It’s clear: the US has completely redefined capitalism.

‍

Capitalism, once confined to Earth, is now expanding its reach to the final frontier as space becomes the new market for commercial enterprise.  

‍

Looking towards the past, it’s clear that policies and regulations have always fluctuated in accordance with shifting government priorities. The Center for Strategic and International Studies cites one instance as President Nixon’s response to the success of the Apollo Program: opting to align space exploration prioritization with other domestic policy goals. In the 1980s, President Reagan did something similar by taking the first step into expanding space development in accordance with governmental oversight by adopting regulatory measures that would enable the U.S. commercial space sector to thrive.   

‍

However, despite these past measures, in recent years the power of the private sector has transcended that of the public. And, without much real public debate, private corporations appear to have already decided: space will be humanity’s next frontier. This is clear as Boston Review explains in 2021, although Blue Origin and SpaceX are indebted to the U.S. government for funding, The US has lost its ability to manage these corporations. One example arose in December of last year when SpaceX refused to comply with the Federal Aviation Association’s orders to abort a high-altitude test launch of its starship rocket after they had lost their launch license due to atmospheric conditions. These endeavors, not only exhibit a propensity for disregarding governmental mandates, but moreover establish a precedent that asserts colonial hegemony.   

‍

The problem with this acceptance of the private colonization of space unregulated lies in the fact that colonial destruction has always and will be justified by an ideology that makes humanity’s role in space exploration appear natural and inevitable. As Boston Review continues in 2021, “the idea that space is open for the taking simply because ‘no one is there’ finds root in the exact colonial logics that have justified settler genocide for centuries: that only certain people, using resources in certain ways, have a claim to land and ownership.”  However, these colonization efforts are more than just a product of a neoliberal society; instead they’re a factor of an exploitative one.     

‍

However, it’s easy to blame modern exploitative practices on private companies when we disregard the precedent public entities have set. So, despite the perceived dichotomy between private enterprises and public institutions, further investigation only reveals the similar trajectories and underlying beliefs that set the framework of this nation. As the Michigan Journal of International Law explains in 2021, the creation of the Outer Space Treaty in 1967 set a precedent for equality and equity, asking for the use and exploration of space to be free of discrimination and to be carried out in the interest of all countries. The moon agreement of 1979 went a step further by declaring the moon and all its resources to be the heritage of mankind. Despite these agreements, however, the Artemis Accords of 2020 furthered the US’s interpretation of property rights in outer space by stating that the extraction of resources itself does not constitute a claim of national appropriation. And, in response to articles 6 and 7 of the Outer Space Treaty, the US argues that the language that makes states responsible and liable for private state activities is consenting to the presence of private sectors to be in space in the first place, as long as they’re compliant with International law. Accordingly, the US’S 2015 law which recognized the rights of the private sector to possess, own, sell, and use space resources further extended the policies of commercialization. 

‍

Now, the issue resides in the detrimental impact of the colonial precedent set by both private and public entities communities. As thousands of orbiting satellites exacerbate light pollution globally, indigenous communities dependent on celestial navigation for cultural rites and practices find their heritage lost at the expense of private development. As Karlie Noon, writer for the Astronomy Newsletter, explains in 2022 that a single mega constellation built of groups of satellites has already been observed to produce up to 19 parallel streaks across the sky. As they travel across the sky, they scatter the sun’s light and render already dim constellations even fainter, thus exacerbating the erosion of ingenious wisdom and connections with the natural world. 

Ultimately, capitalism will rely on constant expansion into new spaces for resources. Yet, in our attempt to traverse and explore the resources around us, we have instead lost one of humanity’s greatest attributes: the acceptance of the unknown.

Space, free from commercial exploitation, allows the unknown to exist without the threat of becoming known. For far too many, space signifies a gateway to a better world, a symbol of humanity’s endeavors. To us today, it serves as a poignant reminder: cherish the world that we already have.  

Our Sources:
Bakshi, Kushagr. "Always Left Looking Up." Michigan Journal of International Law, Nov. 2021, www.mjilonline.org/always-left-looking-up/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Harrison, Todd, et al. "A Behind the Scenes Look at Space Threats." Aerospace.CSIS.org, 1 June 2018, aerospace.csis.org/the-private-sectors-assessment-of-u-s-space-policy-and-law/p. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Noon, Karlie. "Thousands of satellites are threatening ancient Indigenous astronomy practices." Astronomy.com, 20 Dec. 2022, www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/thousands-of-satellites-are-threatening-ancient-indigenous-astronomy-practices/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.

Utrata, Alina. "Lost in Space." Boston Review, 14 July 2021, www.bostonreview.net/articles/lost-in-space/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2024.