ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the impact of technology on space exploration. As the author notes, the era of the space economy has arrived. Business activities that were once the monopoly of a few governments have become a diversified, growing, and scalable industrial ecosystem. This burgeoning space economy and the industrialization and eventual human settlement in our solar system will alter traditional notions of commerce with economic impacts similar to changes caused by the Agrarian and Industrial Revolutions. While this will certainly take time to fully mature, perhaps generations, it will encompass a wide range of economic activities in exploring, settling, and leveraging the potential resources of our solar system. As more of these activities enter the mainstream the need for qualified technical and managerial talent will—pardon the pun—skyrocket.
