Every major mature industry has a trade association. These associations hold conventions, publish newsletters, carry out lobbying for the industry and carry out research projects. Now there is a Space Trade Association for the commercialization of space.
The STA was formed by three people who had worked together with Planetary Resources, Inc. on a Kickstarter project. There are already companies and other groups working on the creation of space industry but these three decided that what was needed was a group "based on specific models describing technological, economic revolutions – how they impact the industrial system, change the economy, alter our social structures and create a new world."
They have identified five previous "Ages" of techno-economic revolution and they consider the coming age of space exploitation which they call the Space and Solar Age as the sixth such revolution. The founders of the STA say that each of the previous such revolutions went through a defined sequence of stages, each with " their own specific needs and impacts." Their goal is to ascertain what stage the space revolution is at and to apply their energies in providing what is needed and anticipating what impacts will result. Their analysis suggests that the new Space Age is in what they call the gestation phase. They believe that each revolution is preceded by such a stage and that this period will last about twenty years until some high-profile event that publicizes the arrival of the new Age.
The STA has identified Seattle, Washington as one of the places that will be a hub for the coming Space Age. Seattle is a world leader in the two main enabling industries for the Space Age, aerospace and information technology. In addition, Seattle has robust competitors in wireless technologies and biotechnologies. The University of Washington in Seattle is one of the biggest research universities in the country. There are about eighty thousand people within twenty miles of downtown Seattle that are working in or supporting the main industrial sectors that will contribute to space exploitation. The STA wants to take advantage of the opportunities that are and will be present in Seattle in the coming decades. "We want to take the innovation in the space industries already happening in the Seattle area and help focus it, permitting novel change to occur more easily. We want to reduce the informational frictions that can slow down the rate of change needed for a new techno-economic Age to begin."
The STA plans on having monthly meetings in the Seattle area with people connected to space industry in order to establish a stronger network between these people. They believe that this can help to shorten the time and reduce the confusion in the gestation period for the Space Age. STA will also have quarterly social events with invited speakers. They intend to work with local organizations to help new projects get started and funded.
I appreciate the enthusiasm and intentions of the STA. As commercial products are either manufactured or mined in space, an industry trade association could play an important role in facilitating the emergence of a robust space industry.
Seattle aerospace workforce:
