Reusable rockets may revitalize space program

As experts around the world explore the possibility of an Apocalyptic future, what once was thought science-fiction, may in fact afford our species its salvation. Outer space -- the last, and greatest frontier of all. Once the atmosphere dips below breathe-ability, or we've laid radioactive waste to the Earth, we'll be forced to seek sanctuary elsewhere. Like space stations.

However, there are obstacles to space travel. According to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, whose shuttle 'Dragon' is currently docked with the International Space Station, the future "will depend on our ability to make rockets that can be used more than once."

Under the United States' current launch model, which utilizes multiple-stage, single-use booster rockets, commercial space transportation will never be economically viable. The National Air and Space Administration (NASA) lists the average cost of a rocket launch at $450 million. For one launch! And, like most household bills these days, a majority of that $450 million goes towards fuel.

Musk went on to point out that "every mode of transportation we're used to ... they're all reusable. But not rockets. If we can't make rockets reusable, the cost is just prohibitive."

Musk, who has taken on a number of energy-tech projects before in Tesla Motors and Solar City, estimated that a reusable rocket could reduce the cost of a launch up 100%. SpaceX's current prototype, the Grasshopper, would jettison a shuttle out of the atmosphere, turn around, and then return to Earth, ready to go again.

This week, Musk is meeting with legislators in Texas to discuss the potential for a commercial launch site in their state. (SpaceX currently conducts theirs from Florida's Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Military bases, which the government doesn't mind renting out for a 'reasonable fee', of course)

Entrepreneurs like Musk are ringing in a new era of independent space exploration. Before, you had to be an astronaut, and endure years of rigorous training. Now, you only have to have a few million dollars in the bank.

Yet, in order to be considered a realistic option should the need for a speedy exodus from out planet ever arise (See: meteors over Russia), mass space transportation is going to require cost-efficient energy -- and lots of it. Although NRGLab's SH-box hasn't quite reached that stage yet, it represents one giant leap towards the future. In fact, the SH-box may very well negate the need for us to leave the planet all together. Perhaps we'll be able to put an end to global warming, and call Earth our home for another hundred thousand years.

Because we can't outrun our problems. Eventually, they catch up to us. We need to confront our problems head on, unafraid to admit fault and make major changes. NRGLab is ready to help the world make a change.

Clean-energy. Living in space stations. Entrepreneurial astronauts. Science fiction? Not anymore.

Meteors & misguided men

On Friday, a meteor descended on Chelyabinsk, Russia at a speed of 18.6 miles per second. They were lucky - the meteor would have been as big as a 15-story building had it not disintegrated in the atmosphere!

          Is it possible some people were expecting this to happen? We have been raised on sci-fi movies are somewhat de-sensitized when it comes to meteors. We immediately think of movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact.  Come Saturday morning, some folks were excited having had survived the meteor. Others were shocked that our advanced missile defense systems proved utterly useless. (Turns out blasting meteors out of space only works in Hollywood. So much for trillions of dollars spent on defense.)

          The truth is people tend to think of themselves as all-powerful and all-mighty beings. In the movies, the heroes always have muscles and access to the most high-tech equipment. They never get shot. They always get the girl. And in the end, just before the credits roll, they somehow save the day.

          But this is a fantasy! Men are egotistical fools who rarely use technology for good; who shoot each other quite often. Mankind’s biggest accomplishment, to date, has been surviving for thousands of years despite our apparent genetic disposition for blood lust. Sure, we’ve invented a great number of things. From the internet to capitalism. Java to baseball. But have these innovations helped us progress, or have they sunk us further into disillusionment?

          Hollywood heroes do not exist. Bruce Willis isn’t waiting to take off in a space ship, plant a nuke on a meteor, and (spoiler alert) save the earth from sure-fire destruction. We have learned much while at the same time, learned nothing. We’re afraid to face the truth: men are not heroes. We are fools who think we can conquer anything we set our sights on. The Earth. Outer Space. Nothing is out of mankind’s dominion.

          So while we talk about the economy, climate-change, and advancements in new technology, let’s not forget – we’re all just one giant meteor away from being wiped from this Earth, like the woolly mammoths and dinosaurs before us.

Poof! Gone. Just like that.