Meet the Entrepreneurs at the Forefront of the Space Race

The world is entering a new Space Age as entrepreneurs spearhead advances in space technology and travel. This renewed Space Age is attributed to a greater commercial role in the space industry; in the United States, NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, adopted a decentralized market strategy in 2005, and interest in the space industry has exploded since with the expansion of companies like SpaceX in the United States and Virgin Galactic in the United Kingdom. Prizes and private contracts encourage innovation. Some companies plan to use advances to speed suborbital travel, making the journey between continents much shorter than current plane rides. Companies are also reducing the cost of satellite launches and extending their applications. One startup, Skybox, has developed a system of satellites that will eventually capture images of any site around the world five times per day. Carren Jao, writing for Entrepreneur, concludes with costs and business risks, but does not address the challenges of space junk or congestion. – YaleGlobal