"Should We Be Privatizing Space?" Apr. 23 (W), at 3:30pm

Sun Apr 20 12:00:00 UTC 2025

*The Institute for Ethics in Public Life invites you to join us for "Should
We Be Privatizing Space?" On Wednesday, April 23, at 3:30pm (in-person and
on Zoom), with special guest Dr. John McMahon of the Department of
Political Science.*

We are in the midst of a "new space race", but this space race is quite
different from the earlier Cold War-era competition that led to the
development of the Sputnik and Apollo programs. Today, private corporations
- SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, and many others large and small - are
involved in all aspects of the new space race – not to mention the several
nations with robust space programs beyond the US and Russia. 2024 set a *record
for the number*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://spacestatsonline.com/launches&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw3YwruaeBiGghHN6QrZ2A9L>
of *orbital launches*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_spaceflight&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw3essuZWhO2yCD-EpxC_mtH>,
while 2023 set the *record for number*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/yearly-number-of-objects-launched-into-outer-space&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2YQedgqT1_l8CMcNUpZPxJ>
of objects launched into space, with 2024 close behind. SpaceX is far and
away the primary player in the US, accounting for *95% of US-based orbital
launches in 2024*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://payloadspace.com/2024-orbital-launch-attempts-by-country/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2Jzv79zj4bdYRvYLZyvRaO>
.

Moreover, the aims of the actors involved have expanded: mining rare
metals, space tourism, the establishment of orbital colonies, and even the
establishment of a colony on Mars all figure into the space visions of
private actors. In the US, the commercialization of the space industry is a
rare issue of bipartisan work. Both Democratic and Republican
administrations have facilitated public-private partnerships between NASA
and companies like SpaceX and Boeing, while the Obama, Trump I, and Biden
administrations have all facilitated the creation of frameworks for the
private space industry to operate. Trump II is likely to do the same,
especially given the power of Elon Musk within Trump's administration.

The new space race is here, and it is intensifying. This raises a number of
ethical questions:

   -

   If we think space exploration is valuable, necessary, or simply
   exciting, how should we think of its increasing privatization and
   commercialization? What are the benefits and the costs of privatizing
   space?
   -

   What are the ethical objections to these activities? Are there
   countervailing ethical principles that could be used to justify such
   activities?
   -

   How should these activities be regulated?

   -

   How should environmental concerns shape our judgments of private and/or
   commercial space activity?

We will discuss these and other related topics.

*This Brookings Institution overview on the "promises and perils" of the
"new space boom"*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-promise-and-peril-of-the-new-space-boom-us-china-competition-spacex-international-law/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2FLUdqFOKnnZRjakSyMrUw>
is
recommended short reading to provide further background information on the
new space race.
Dr. *John McMahon*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://johnamcmahon.com/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2R96SzIUMWrvPUxDKm_B4I>
is Associate Professor of Political Science at SUNY Plattsburgh. He has a
Ph.D. in Political Science from The Graduate Center, CUNY. His research
interests include contemporary political theory, feminist thought, Black
political thought, political theories of work, labor, and neoliberalism,
and the politics of emotion and affect. His most recent publication, with *Sid
Simpson*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://sidsimpson.com/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw1fkTcpdIvnyj168d9EBLt_>
and* Désirée Weber*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://wooster.edu/bio/dweber/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2uAb-fsm-1QMF0FUYGT6Xa>,
is "*Towards a critical space theory: The instrumental politics of space
exploitation*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14748851241279679&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2sCF3EIv_ud9pMdNYM9tat>,"
published in the *European Journal of Political Theory *in 2024. McMahon is
currently working with Simpson and Weber on a follow-up article, "The Final
Frontier: From Space Exploitation to Outer Space as a Commons." He
also is co-founder
and co-host of the *Not Quite Great Books TV podcast*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://notgreatbookstv.podbean.com/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw38BCluhN2wi15kak1TFfqK>,
which is a fluctuating mixture of television criticism and political
theory, and co-founder and co-host of *We Are The Deluge*
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://delugecast.wordpress.com/&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw3IVZCDN8M5nOoVaPfvZWTn>,
a spoiler-free chapter-by-chapter analysis of the climate novel *The Deluge*
by Stephen Markley.

Please join us in person in the Thomas Moran Seminar Room, Institute for
Ethics in Public Life (Hawkins 233) or on Zoom.

Daniel Lake is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Should We Be Privatizing Space?
Time: Apr 23, 2025 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85407269041
<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/85407269041&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1745417126725284&usg=AOvVaw2w6VdmYvib_O-E8VuUJm37>

*Upcoming at the Institute (*all events at 3:30pm, in-person and Zoom,
unless otherwise noted*)*:

*Apr. 30* - Intellectual Property and AI, with Prof. John Chambers,
Department of Communications Studies.

*May 7* - tbd. (Social Media and Education, with Prof. Bridget Haina and
Dr. Shakuntala Rao, has been rescheduled to Fall semester).

You can also see upcoming events on the Institute's Program and Events
webpage
<https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/centers/ethics-in-public-life/programs.html>
or add the Institute's public calendar
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1?cid=Y19sa245c3MxcjdscjExdmM0ZzNtMDlyaDUyb0Bncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t>
to your Google Calendar.

-- 

*Daniel Lake*

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Assoc. Prof. of Political Science

Director, Institute for Ethics in Public Life

Hawkins 149A

101 Broad Street
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

Plattsburgh, NY 12901
<https://maps.google.com/?q=101+Broad+Street+Plattsburgh,+NY+12901&entry=gmail&source=g>

(o) 518-564-5833 <(518)%5645833>

*plattsburgh.edu <http://plattsburgh.edu/>*
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