The development of the NewSpace sector, which is triggered by the advent of reusable rockets, new materials and processes, including additive layer manufacturing technologies, is quickly generating a unique industrial and cultural revolution. This remarkable paradigm has the inherent capacity of ensuring the right to development for all Earthlings, as was stated by the UN "Declaration on the Right to Development" in 1986. In progressively shifting the context and burden of industrial development outwards from the Earth's surface, it will also support the goals of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. This important potential describes the social perspective that we have called the "Space Renaissance".
We take this opportunity to renew our most urgent recommendations: that the International Astronautical Federation act within all their means to support the immediate prospect of the industrialization of Earth orbit and of geolunar space; based on a long-term strategy that includes the human expansion, and extension of civil rights, into outer space. We are aware that humanity could keep on just exploring space for other 50 years, and the high frontier to remain closed to privates, enterprises, civil expansion and settlement. More: we could even begin exploiting space resources, mined by means of automated machines endowed by artificial intelligence, without expanding civilization into space, avoiding a true colonization. All of that would just increase the pressure on our world, should the planet remain closed. Only a true expansion of mankind into the outer space will reverse the global crisis that our civilization is going through.
A solid industrial perspective
Some industrial activities can give a ROI in a reasonable times. Recovery and reuse of space debris and wreckages, at least in its recovery part, is very much needed, for orbital safety. With proper orbital infrastructures, to capture debris, the logical next step will be to re-process them, getting powders for 3D printing, a platform for orbital ISRU, very first bricks of orbital factories. Assembly of satellites and vehicles in orbit is a large industrial perspective, that will decrease the cost of design, construction and launch: a first step towards a self sustaining space industrial development. There's a number of in-orbit operations: transport and maintenance of satellites in orbit, refuelling stations, repair shops, orbital sites, orbital yards, spaceports, habitats. All the activities tied to space tourism, such as hotels and lodging facilities, passengers transportation systems (Earth-Orbit, inter-orbit, Earth-Moon). Products from zero gravity, asteroid and lunar mining are other very promising industrial activities, on which several startups were already born.
Priority to enabling technologies
Acknowledging the dramatic need to start moving and accommodating civilian untrained passengers in space, we urge a strategy to achieve as soon as possible few key objectives: low-cost, safe and comfortable transportation of civilian passengers in space, protection of their life and health during travel and while working and living in space; recovery and recycling of space debris; construction technologies in-orbit, along with dedicated programs for in-orbit validation to be initiated at the earliest phase; exploitation of asteroids and planetary resources, enabling the construction of large rotating infrastructures in geolunar space. Priority shall be given to enabling technologies. Humanism is a necessary background for any scientific and technological design and development: starting from the need of real persons is key. If technicians and businessmen need to travel in space in large number, the cost of the transport vehicles shall be reduced. Moreover, the vehicles need to be properly designed to transport civilian passengers, who have not been trained as astronauts. Accelerations should not exceed those of a normal airliner, not too much at least. A new spirit of collaboration among different NewSpace sectors, space vehicles developers, reusable rockets producers, space tourism, space agencies and civil aviation, is highly recommended. Softer and safer atmosphere return technologies are required. Protection against cosmic radiation is top priority, and so is artificial gravity. Last, but not least, man cannot live in a full metal artificial environment: any space habitat, be it constructed on a celestial body surface or in orbit or in a Lagrange point, shall be endowed with vegetable terrestrial life, not only for food production, but also for the sake of environmental / psychological health. That means to accelerate the experimentation of artificial ecosystems in closed environments.
