BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman told a Lehigh University audience that space exploration stands at a transformative moment, with dramatically falling launch costs poised to unlock new opportunities for humanity.
Speaking to students and faculty on Tuesday, Isaacman, who led the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn missions, emphasized that the space industry has reached “the healthiest time we have ever had” with multiple companies launching rockets regularly and driving down costs through competition.
“SpaceX is launching every two days,” Isaacman said, noting companies including Blue Origin, Rocket Lab and others are creating unprecedented access to space. “We have no other time in the history of human spaceflight where we can just rattle off so many names of companies that are building rockets.”
The Lehigh Valley resident and Shift4 Payments founder, who started the payment processing company at 16 in his parents’ basement, said establishing a true space economy remains essential for progress beyond taxpayer-funded missions…