Spacefaring Institute

12/09/2025

In this edition #4 of Spaceward, I again focus on the nomination of Mr. Jared Isaacman to be the NASA Administrator. With the U.S. Senate preparing to consider his nomination, I wrote to Senator John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, to explain my reservations. In this edition, I elaborate on those reasons to explain why achieving operational safety is of paramount importance for planning and executing America's human spacefaring enterprise.

By Mike Snead, PE On December 3, 2025, Mr. Jared Isaacman again appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee to testify about his renomination by President Trump to be the NASA Administrator.

12/02/2025

In this #3 edition of Spaceward, I explain why I do not support the nomination of Mr. Jared Isaacman to be the NASA Administrator.

By Mike Snead, PE, president Mr. Jared Isaacman, a businessman and pilot, has been renominated by President Trump to become the NASA Administrator.

12/02/2025

In this #2 edition of the Spacefaring Institute's LinkedIn Spaceward newsletter, the issue of Starship's apparent lack of structural integrity in the new design is discussed. Having adequate structural integrity is essential for Starship to become operational.

Jeff Foust at spacenews.com wrote this about the recent SpaceX Starship test failure.

11/25/2025

This four-minute read should change your understanding of how undertaking the development of space solar power will become America's human spacefaring imperative.

By Mike Snead, PE, president Recently, I have been writing and posting frequently on why America now has a national energy security imperative to develop and commercialize space solar power-supplied astroelectricity. These efforts are the result of now nearly twenty years of evaluating America's and

11/22/2025

https://spacefaringamerica.com/?p=4731

Gas station out of gas during the 1973-74 imported oil supply crisis. This article builds on my previous Space Review article, “Astroelectricity: America’s national energy security imperative”. In …

11/01/2025

In my Spacefaring America blog post, I summarize the results of my recent assessment update of what it will take for America to fully transition to clean energy, why space solar power (SSP)-supplied astroelectricity is the only practicable way for America to undertake an orderly transition, and, consequently, due to the magnitude of SSP energy needed, why now undertaking the development of SSP is a national energy security imperative. Yes, imperative!!

Energy security is essential to America's freedom, political stability, prosperity, and ability to live at peace. Certainly, this fact has been made abundantly clear over the last 50 years. In 1970, America became oil insecure. This began 40 years of forced American engagement in warfare in the Middle East in order for America to secure sufficient oil to meet our needs. By 1980, over half of the oil used was being imported. In 1990, we fought our first major war in the Middle East to secure oil.

Fracking saved America, but only temporarily. In the coming decades, the domestic production of oil and natural gas—which now supply 70 percent of all energy used—will peak and begin to decline. ONCE AGAIN, America will start to become energy insecure. By that time, new and substantial sources of clean energy, primarily SSP, must fill the gap to avoid more warfare. This is why now aggressively developing SSP is a national energy security priority.

Read my blog and decide for yourself. Sign up to follow Spacefaring America.

The imperative to undertake SSP development will transform America's entire space program.

Mike Snead, PE
President and founder

This past year, I updated and expanded my analytical assessment of America’s sustainable energy needs and transition options. (See Spacefaring America blog post 130. In that post are links to…

03/15/2025

The United States needs to develop a national astrologistics infrastructure to foster commercial space operations throughout the Earth-Moon system. By building an "Astral Highway" and enabling space bases and space habitats in low Earth orbit, America can support robust business ventures and secure its leadership in human spacefaring, moving beyond mere robotic operations....

The United States needs to develop a national astrologistics infrastructure to foster commercial space operations throughout the Earth-Moon system. By building an “Astral Highway” and e…

03/03/2025

To re-establish its leadership in human spacefaring, America must develop a national astrologistics infrastructure for safe operations in the Earth-Moon system. Utilizing the unmanned cargo version of the Space Launch System (SLS)—re-branded as America's "Spacelifter"—will facilitate the construction of essential space bases and habitats, realizing America's human spacefaring ambitions....

To re-establish its leadership in human spacefaring, America must develop a national astrologistics infrastructure for safe operations in the Earth-Moon system. Utilizing the unmanned cargo version…

08/03/2023

Mike Snead's narrated video presentation on space solar power-generated astroelectricity made to an ESA-hosted workshop....

Mike Snead’s narrated video presentation on space solar power-generated astroelectricity made to an ESA-hosted workshop.

07/24/2023

Mike Snead, Professional Engineer and president and founder of the Spacefaring Institute LLC, was invited by the European Space Agency to present at their 14 July 2023 workshop on space solar power. Mr. Snead prepared this highly visual, narrated video presentation for this workshop. In it, he quantitively explains why wind power and ground solar power are NOT practicable solutions for the world to "go clean" with renewable energy. He then explains how space solar power-generated astroelectricity can enable the abundant clean energy the world will need to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Mr. Snead concluded the presentation with a proposal to commercialize the cargo version of the Space Launch System to use it to build the initial low Earth orbit (LEO) astrologistics capabilities needed to "jump start" the upcoming "Spacefaring Age". Mr. Snead included visual examples of how the SLS could be used to build the initial LEO spacebases, spacedocks, and rotating space habitats, as well as the initial spaceships, to initiate astrologistics operations within the Earth-Moon system.

Many people incorrectly believe that wind and ground solar power will enable the world to “go clean” while providing abundant, middle-class affordable energy...

01/20/2023

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this week has become a display of the intransigent incompetence of many self-proclaimed “world leaders” to lead the world’s orderly transition this century to abundant, practicable green energy. Instead, on the topics of sustainability and green energy, they have become increasingly shrill in their almost screaming rhetoric that the “sky is falling”, and everyone must unquestionably accept their claim for the need for a global “reset” to save humanity. In short, they are calling for a return to a global dark age with, of course, themselves as the appointed kings and merchant nobility to lead this new world order.

The fact that over a thousand jet-fuel burning private jets were used to reach the airport closest to Davos displays the hypocrisy of the WEF today. Why not move the meeting to a European location located near traditional rail, road, and airport access to eliminate the meeting’s attendees need to fly privately? Isn’t first class good enough? Obviously, Davos is selected for exclusivity—meaning exclusion of the interested public—and the ability to display personal wealth through a Rolex® with wings.

Former US Vice President Al Gore was a prominent speaker on the topic of environmental protection. The following video is his remarks at the WEF meeting this week. Note how he starts off calmly, but soon transitions into a trademark rant that is all too familiar in his public remarks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-br-n9xTOc

The need for many of those speaking about environmental protection to express hypocritical alarm indicates other than sincerely held personal beliefs matched by personal actions. The failure of the world’s and, especially, the American public’s willingness to fall into step with their eagerness to march into a new dark age—one they named the “Great Reset”—brings forth increasingly hyperbolic alarmist rhetoric, as Mr. Gore demonstrated in his remarks.

I have researched and written about the topic central to environmental protection—that of America’s and the world’s energy security. Transitioning the world to a sustainable, prosperous industrial culture powered by abundant and affordable green energy is central to the world achieving—as President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for in his 1941 State of the Union address—“freedom from want”. What the WEF has failed to achieve, since its founding over 50 years ago, is to define a PRACTICABLE path to achieve freedom from want. The same is true for the United Nations, the US Congress, or any other world “leadership” body. This implies that the world’s highly educated “elite” simply don’t really know what to do. The world’s political paradigm with them at the helm is plainly failing.

As I explain in my recent articles and videos, the path forward for America and the world is to undertake the development of space solar power-generated astroelectricity. Astroelectricity, developed as a global “public good”, is needed to practicably achieve freedom from want this century. Watch this 9-minute YouTube video I made for an introduction to why astroelectricity is the path to pursue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E-0NYnAaUA

Mike Snead, P.E.
President

Space solar power-generated astroelectricity will provide the world with globally-available sustainable energy. This video introduces astroelectricity and ex...

01/06/2023

In the early years of America's involvement in World War II, strategic land and naval airpower were the two primary means of US military force projection. US Army Air Forces B-17 strategic bombers struck the first offensive blows in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation. During that war, the US Army Air Forces became a force of several million military and civilian personnel, supported by the world's then largest industry, enabling the US to have global airpower capabilities. The success and importance of strategic airpower was the primary reason the US Air Force was created as a separate service in 1947. Ever since, strategic airpower has been at the heart of America's national security and ability to project power globally to deter aggression, to support allies and friends, and to strike against enemies.

Last month, USAF unveiled its latest strategic bomber—the B-21. Like the B-2, the B-21 will enable global air power reach against heavily defended adversaries to provide a primary means of deterring aggression—such as the now clearly growing aggression by Communist China.

The nation's need for strategic airpower was initially widely opposed when strongly advocated by Col. Billy Mitchell in the early 1920s. Generals and admirals scoffed at the notion of airpower becoming a substantial means of warfare. Fortunately, airpower champions within the Army Air Corps maintained focus and began to develop the strategic bomber—the B-17—that became the initial cornerstone of US military offensive capabilities in WW II.

During WW II, Germany's use of the V-2 tactical ballistic missile made Earth orbital space a warzone. Thousands of V-2's were launched in the final six months of the war in Europe. This was a wakeup call for the US that space was now a matter of national security. When USAF separated, its vision for the future was that airpower would expand to become aerospacepower—that manned air operations would expand upwards into space to support national defense and critical national interests.

Despite political opposition within the Air Force and the other services, the Air Force maintained this view for decades. The illustration below is of a space fighter—the S-17—from a 1976 cover illustration of the Air Force's official magazine, Airman. In this public affairs-approved illustration, the manned S-17 is operated by the US Aerospace Force—not to be confused with the "Space Force".

It is now time for the US Air Force to formally transition into the US Aerospace Force to ensure that America's strategic defense needs and strategic interests in outer space are met with technological and operational superiority over potential adversaries, such as Communist China. Neither the Space Force nor NASA are capable of delivering this now vital national security need. The same service that has now developed the B-21 to maintain American operational strategic airpower superiority needs to provide America's strategic spacepower superiority.

Mike Snead, PE
President