In another sense, however, the combination of public involvement and entrepreneurial ferment is an outgrowth of NASA’s commitment to public engagement over the last 60-plus years, which began with the agency seeking to show the world its wondrous achievements and value. In one sense, the involvement of wealthy patrons and private companies in space activities harkens back to a time when industrialists and philanthropists funded astronomical observatories. Being a space traveler, formerly the domain of military test pilots and scientists, has very quickly become not exactly democratized but certainly open to more people, the harbinger of a future where space could be for everyone. Underwritten by Jared Isaacman (yes, another billionaire), the voyage included three people he’d selected to accompany him as part of an effort to raise millions of dollars for St.
In September, Dragon lofted four civilians into Earth orbit for a three-day sojourn around the planet. Then, within the span of nine days in July 2021, billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos rode to the edge of space inside vehicles they financed. In the spring of 2020, the gloom of COVID-19 was temporarily dispelled by two NASA astronauts donning restyled flight suits before launching aboard Space X’s Dragon capsule-the first time the agency’s space travelers have left US soil in a non-NASA launch vehicle. The story of how NASA came to see the public as instrumental in accomplishing its mission provides insights for R&D agencies trying to create societal value, relevance, and connection.
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