SpaceX is De-Nationalizing the Space Industry

Tomorrow's launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 is a big milestone in human history. Not since the launch of Apollo 11 has there been such an important mission into space.

While many people are excited to see this event as America's big return to launching humans to space after nearly 10 years of having to buy seats on Russia's Soyuz launch system, many others (including Elon Musk) are seeing this as the beginning of the end of government monopolies on human space travel.

Nationalism & Patriotism Surrounding this Launch
If you've been paying attention, you have probably noticed that many people are touting this as the first time since the retiring of the Space Shuttle in 2011 that "American astronauts will be launched on American rockets from American soil". This trope is being repeated verbatim in media outlets, by politicians, and bureaucrats everywhere. NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine, repeats it often.

One thing that you will notice is that Elon Musk, the founder, visionary, and chief engineer of SpaceX does not say this or anything like it. He usually maintains a diplomatic silence when speaking with NASA officials since they are his customer, but when it is repeated in front of him, take a look at his face. You will see a stifled eye roll and/or an attempt to hold back what may be an expression of disgust.

In past interviews, Elon has described himself as somewhat of an anarchist. Although he has also sung the praises of the United States as well, arguably where that praise is due, however, he has also blasted them for their assault on human rights in regard to their draconian COVID-19 response. He seldom discusses politics, instead choosing to focus on solving problems and advancing humanity through engineering. When asked about what type of government that should exist on Mars, he has offered various vague answers. He hasn't really expressed a need for any type of government on Mars, where he hopes to build colonies. He has stated that any laws made must have expiration dates, as all laws are made to deal with current problems, not future problems. He has repeatedly stated that governments of earth have too many laws that never go away and that is very problematic.

Falcon Heavy Test Flight & the Preservation of Human Knowledge
On February 6, 2018, SpaceX tested its Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. This was basically just three Falcon 9 Boosters strapped together. The center booster included a 2nd stage and a payload inside a fairing. Because this was a test launch, they did not have a customer willing to put a satellite or other payload onboard due to the risk.

Elon Musk included a surprise payload nonetheless. Elon decided to launch his personal $200,000 Telsa Roadster automobile into orbit around Mars. (Elon Musk is also the founder and CEO of Tesla, a company that is dedicated to transitioning the world off of fossil fuels by building electric cars, solar panels, power storage, and fully-distributing electrical generation to eliminate electrical utility monopolies.)

The Roadster contained a test dummy, nicknamed Starman, and has David Bowie's Space Oddity - Is There Life On Mars? playing on repeat. These payload items are somewhat well-known and talked about often, but one other lesser-known item was also launched onboard the "Tesla Orbiter".

Located inside the glove compartment of the Roadster is a small optical storage device, created by the Arch Mission Foundation. This device contained Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy.

The goal of the Arch Mission Foundation is to preserve and store all of human knowledge and disseminate it far and wide, to other worlds and beyond. This was their first mission and it is expected to remain in orbit around Mars for at least 30 million years. SpaceX's support of this organization is very much in line with the ideals and philosophy of Elon Musk.

This lack of nationalistic cheerleading for USA is also seen in a message printed on a circuit board inside that Tesla Roadster Obiter. The words "Made on Earth by humans"

This beautiful, humble, little message is simple, eloquent, and communicates volumes about the values of the people that worked to make this a reality. It stands in stark contrast against the pompous flag-waving patriots and bureaucrats taking credit for technological advances that they had little or nothing to do with. It's reminiscent of the famous words of Neil Armstrong that he uttered as he descended the ladder out of the Lunar Module, saying "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Click here to watch the entire maiden launch of the Falcon Heavy, complete with Roadster Deployment

Further Reading:
The Arch Mission Foundation
Falcon Heavy Test Flight Wikipedia Page