
Space Logistics, Challenges Ahead
The current payload launching momentum will force us to think about space logistics sooner than we think.
I recently drove to South Florida from the Space Coast in Brevard County along the interstate highway. It was still cold and dark at 3:30 AM. Getting dangerously close to the busy highway, the occasional courageous deer surfaced from the pitch-black roadside vegetation. I had hot tea to keep warm but drove without listening to music. It was too early. Primed for deep introspection and contemplation by going straight, I cracked open my car window to avoid the potential whiff of drowsiness. The fresh, dewy air was perfumed with Florida’s greenery. I also heard the constant buzz from the semi-trailer trucks rushing ahead with their robot-like metallic colors and silvery headlights. It was an early peek into the state’s busy shipping and logistics arteries.
Developments for in-space logistical infrastructure might not currently be as widely discussed in the news. However, as I drove south that day, accompanied by the semi-trailer trucks faithfully transporting goods and materials to their final destinations, it seemed that writing about logistics should be at the forefront of any objective assessment mapping out humanity’s roadmap beyond Earth’s orbit.