Applications of Spaceflight
Current spaceflights are frequently, but not invariably paid for by governments; but there are strong launch markets such as satellite television that is purely commercial, although the launchers themselves are often at least partly funded by governments.
Uses for spaceflight include:
- Earth observation satellites such as Spy satellites, weather satellites
- Space exploration
- Space tourism is a small market at present
- Communication satellites
- Satellite navigation
There is growing interest in spacecraft and flights paid for by commercial companies and even private individuals. It is thought that some of the high cost of access to space is due to governmental inefficiencies; and certainly the costs of the governmental paperwork surrounding NASA is legendary. If a commercial company were able to be more efficient, costs could come down significantly. Space launch vehicles such as Falcon I have been wholly developed with private finance, and the quoted costs for launch are lower.
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