A Question for America Can building a New Frontier in space help restore the American Dream? Explore the political and economic forces shaping a new future. Why Care About Space? Space offers a frontier of unlimited resources and opportunity that could create the economic growth we need to solve many of our greatest problems on Earth. Potential Public Benefits of Space High Paying Jobs: Create minimum wage jobs in space that could pay $250/hour or more. Return on Investment: Pay back billions in profit on any public money invested. Trifecta Economy: Deliver an economy with low taxes, zero debt, and high benefits. Better Future: End poverty and fund healthcare and education for all. This future is possible. Let us show you why. The Agenda We explore the potential payoff in public value from space We explain the technologies enabling this future We offer a vision for a prosperous American (and Human) future We define a strategy for achieving that vision We outline a political roadmap for how to get there Finally: We ask you to complete a survey to tell us how you would vote. Follow six easy steps to learn more. Then, complete our challenge survey to cast your vote on America's future in space.
Creating Public Value from Space Can America Generate Public Value from Space? The real value of space is not in its exploration by a few, but in the creation of an economy that delivers exponential financial returns for the many. Public Value(s) We believe in creating public value, not just private fortune. We believe the American public should share in the wealth created from public investment. We believe Americans have the courage to make bold bets on the future if there is a payback. We believe in restoring the American Dream to the promise it once had. While addressed to an American audience, we believe these values are common to all. Space Economics 101 Everything in space costs 10x-100x more than on Earth due to launch costs, life support, and the hostile environment. This creates an economy with exponentially higher prices and wages. Implications If costs are 10-100x higher, then wages will be 10x-100x higher. Minimum wages job will be $250/hour or (much) more. Workers will pay for their food and lodging at astronomical prices compared to Earth. But their wages will be set at market rates to cover those costs. Workers will still pay taxes - but on a much larger dollar salary base. Workers will still save money - also on a much larger dollar salary base. The tax dollar returns per person will be much higher than on Earth. Public Value Drivers: How a Space Economy Benefits Earth Return on Investment: An economy of 1M creates more tax revenue than a country of 100M. The American Dream: High paying jobs in space mean workers earn $1M in savings in four years. Prosperity on Earth: Double-digit economic growth on Earth creates job opportunities for all. Debt Relief: Space creates a direct financial payback for every public dollar invested. Profit: Trillions of extra annual tax dollars are returned to Earth each year in the future. Summary Concept 1: An Economy in Space is an "Economic Conjugate" that Benefits Earth (an exponentially higher priced economy). Create a "Trifecta Economy" on Earth: Zero debt, low taxes, high benefits. Public Revenue: A high-wage economy in space generates trillions in tax dollars. Public Benefits: Space revenue reduces public debt and funds public services. Individual Wealth: Space jobs pay $250+/hour giving regular people a shot at $1M in savings. Social Mobility: Returning workers build up America's middle class adding social stability. Social Equality: The gap between executives and regular workers in space is less than 2x. Our Challenge This future is possible. It creates a better future for all of our children. Building it will require your support and your votes. This is a generational challenge to create a new American future.
Game Changer: Reusable Rockets A Revolution in Space Access is Happening Today "The revolutionary breakthrough will come with rockets that are fully reusable…. The American colonies would never have been pioneered if the ships that crossed the ocean hadn't been reusable." — Elon Musk, 2025 Concept 2: Space launch is 97% cheaper than 15 years ago Space Shuttle (1980-2010): $54,000 - $73,000/kg SpaceX Falcon 9 (2010+): $2,500/kg SpaceX Falcon Heavy (2018+): $1,500/kg SpaceX Starship (Goal): $10 - $200/kg Source: American Enterprise Institute (2024) Reference Case: ISS Past: Space Shuttle (1998-2011): $30.1B for 37 launches (Source: GAO). Future: SpaceX Starship (Estimated): Less than $500M for 5 launches. The total cost of building and maintaining the ISS is now over $150B for the last 25 years. A revolution in reusable rockets could reduce that cost by 90% or more. New Space Metrics SpaceX Launches per Year 2020: 25 launches 2021: 31 launches 2022: 61 launches 2023: 96 launches 2024: 134 launches 2025: 165 launches Reusability Metrics Reusability today: 70% Reusability goal: 100% Reuse Launch Record: 32 Flights (B1067) The Starship Revolution "In about 6 or 7 years, there will be days where Starship launches more than 24 times in 24 hours." — Elon Musk, X.com, August 2025 Starship Example (illustrative): assume seven launches per day 2035 Avg Starship Launches/day: 7 launches (100 Metric tons/launch) Total mass to LEO each day: 700 Metric tons Total mass to LEO per month: 21,000 Metric tons Total mass to LEO per year: 252,000 Metric tons ISS Total Mass: 450 Metric tons What does 250k metric tons mean? That is equivalent to 2.5 aircraft carriers (USS Gerald R. Ford: 100,000 Metric tons, 25 decks, nuclear reactors, advanced weaponry, 90 aircraft, ~5,000 crew, 1,000 feet long × 250 feet wide). Proposal 1: Bulk Purchase Space Launch The U.S. Congress should empower NASA to buy launch in bulk. Incent SpaceX to decrease costs, encourage Blue Origin to get moving. Place a purchase for 100 launches per year at $25M / launch ($2.5 billion/yr). Increase to 1,000 if cost is $10M / launch ($10 billion/year). Increase to 4,000 if cost is $5M / launch ($20 billion/year). Use bulk buy to incentivize cost reduction, force competition. Summary In the last 15 years, a revolution in access to space has happened in plain view. The cost to launch into space has dropped exponentially. The capacity to launch into space is growing exponentially. For the first time, big projects in space are feasible or soon will be. Do we have a public vision for how to use this new capability? Our culture has not yet caught up with how much space economics has changed. What would you do with this unique new American capability?
Game Changer: Resources in Space Mining the Moon and Asteroids for Public Value Mining 10 specific asteroids could produce a profit of $1.5 trillion. Concept 3: Asteroids are Worth Serious Money There are millions of asteroids that come in three main types: C-type (Carbonaceous) (70%): Rich in water and organic carbon for fuel and life support. S-type (Stony) (17%): Rich in silicates, minerals, oxides and rare-earth metals. M-type (Metallic) (3%): Heavy concentration of iron, nickel, and precious metals for construction. A known asteroid 3,000-foot wide is believed to have 90 million tons of platinum at its core worth $5.4 trillion. A single asteroid just 100 feet across could have platinum worth about $25 to $50 billion. Materials from asteroids can be used to create fuel and build structures far cheaper than lifting everything from Earth. Asteroid Mining Asteroids can be captured and returned back to a safe Lunar orbit for processing. An asteroid just 7 meters in diameter has a potential mass of 500,000 kg (or 500 tons). The first such mission will be expensive; repetition reduces the cost dramatically. Cost Curve: The first mission proposed by NASA was $2B. Repetition can drive the cost curve down rapidly. Key Resources from Asteroids Water (H2O): Found in carbonaceous (C-type) asteroids, used for human consumption, oxygen production, and manufacturing hydrogen/oxygen rocket fuel. Structural Metals: Iron and Nickel abundant in M-type asteroids for building habitats, tools, and machinery. Cobalt for high-strength alloys. Construction and Manufacturing: Silicon for solar panels and glass. Silicates for concrete-like materials. Precious and Industrial Metals: Platinum Group Metals for electronics and advanced technologies. Gold and Silver for specialized components. Asteroid resources are the key to building and maintaining an economy in space. Concept 4: We Can Mine the Moon The moon has oxygen, iron, aluminum, titanium, and silicon and we have known for 50 years how to mine it and send it into Lunar orbit. Lunar Mining with Mass Drivers What is a mass driver? An electromagnetic catapult that can accelerate a metal bucket carrying material from the moon to a "catcher" in Lunar orbit. In 1977, MIT researchers create a mass driver prototype and a design for a mass driver just 550 yards long that could launch material from the moon. In 2024, General Atomics completed a study and roadmap for the U.S. Air Force on a Lunar Mass Driver leveraging an electromagnetic catapult created for Navy aircraft carriers. In 2026, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX will build a mass driver on the moon for a moon base. Mass Drivers for mining resources from the Moon are feasible, practical, and the science is understood today. Key Resources on the Moon Water Ice: Found in permanently shadowed regions near the poles, used for drinking, oxygen production, and rocket propellant. Regolith (Lunar Soil): Used to construct shelters, roads, and landing pads. Can be processed for building materials, metal, and glass. Oxygen: Abundant within the lunar regolith (approx. 45% by weight), extracted for breathing and fuel oxidizer. Metals and Minerals: The Moon is rich in iron, aluminum, titanium, silicon, and magnesium. Helium-3: Rare on Earth, found on the Moon, valuable for potential nuclear fusion reactors. Solar Power: High electrical power can be generated from the sun. The Value of Slag Even left over slag from processed Moon and Asteroid ore is valuable. Gravel and slag can be used as shielding materials in habitats. They are worth the $/lb cost of lifting this mass from Earth. Proposal 2: L1 Strategic Resources Reserve Create a USG purchase agreement for asteroid materials delivered to Lunar orbit. This would: Catalyze an industry by instantly creating a market with a price signal. Create a declining schedule for materials recovered (high price initially, lower over time). Acquire a publicly owned reserve of materials that could include rare and valuable metals. Create a public asset while crowding in private investment as a multiplier. Cement American leadership in space and launch space industrialization. Create another wave of investment with jobs in America. A materials reserve in Earth-Lunar orbit would be an asset worth billions for the American public.
Vision: Betting Bold on a Prosperous Human Future Goal To lead humanity onto a space frontier of infinite growth and opportunity, creating wealth and jobs for the rest of the century. Vision Requirements Reinvigorate the American Dream and the hope of a better life for our children Connect to America's pocketbook issues of economic growth, jobs, and wages Resonate with our history of frontier expansion and desire for the wide open spaces Create opportunities for more than just the elite and wealthy, but for all Americans Define a path that is fiscally sustainable and helps resolve long-term financial challenges Qualify as a top priority for America's voters in a long list of urgent needs The Vision: A New Frontier Future To build a future in space that creates wealth and jobs for people on Earth. Rally Public Investment Invest $10 Trillion of public money to build a space frontier over 50 years Annual: $200B per year, just 3% of federal budget Create industries with more than 100k workers in space (growing to 1M+) Develop supply chains from Asteroid and Lunar resources Develop a market economy reflecting in-space prices and costs Generate Public Returns ROI: Return $20 Trillion in direct cash from taxes and fees over 50 years Jobs: Create high-paying jobs for millions of Americans in space and on Earth Growth: Drive economic growth for the rest of the century Public Benefits: Fully fund healthcare, education, and retirement for all Reward Citizens: Reward every citizen with shares that earn a dollar return Why We Need This Overcome a future of secular stagnation and structural debt risking perpetual economic crisis Build a more prosperous future for a global economy facing deep population decline Create a future of new jobs and industries that can be built in America Overcome the AI, robotics, and automation transformations rupturing our society Create high paying blue-collar and farming jobs to energize the sectors left behind today Build a better American and world future for everyone, everywhere A National Project Building a Space Frontier is a candidate for a National Project One that brings all sides together rather than driving them apart It creates a shared frontier ethos of growth and opportunity It establishes a long-term goal that is complementary to our Earthly responsibilities Americans will support a National Project that focuses on jobs, growth, and opportunity. The American Challenge To overcome our political polarization, economic challenges, and an increasingly dangerous world to lead humanity onto the space frontier for the benefit of all.
Strategy: Strategic Plays to Enable the Vision "An effective industrial strategy must create wealth through public investment guided by modern-day moonshots." — Mariana Mazzucato, Foreign Affairs, 2026 Goal To develop the technical capabilities, economic roadmap, and public support needed to build a New Frontier Future in space. Technical Building Blocks Technical capabilities required to build an economy in space include: Contract long-term launch capacity to move 250k-500k metric tons to LEO per year. Status: TBD. SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin New Glenn in development. Create purchase program for asteroid material delivered to CIS Lunar orbit. Status: Not started. Develop capability to mine and launch material from the lunar surface. Status: SpaceX plans to build a mass driver on the Moon (2026). Develop in-space capability to process lunar and asteroid material for water and air. Status: Not started. Develop in-space tools to process materials into useful metals and materials. Status: Not started. Develop industrial tooling to build large structures in space. Status: Not started. Develop high efficiency agricultural systems for use in space. Status: Not started. Develop capability to collect and provide energy for large scale activities in space. Status: Not started. NASA must develop a roadmap and incentives for each of these capabilities. U.S. aerospace firms lack visionary leadership. Only SpaceX has shown the ability to grow and invest for the New Frontier. Financial Building Blocks The Funding Challenge Every generation since Apollo has announced big programs in space. None of them have earned the votes to succeed or be sustained. A financial mechanism must be built that supersedes election cycles. It must be one that earns public trust and support. Financial capabilities to build an economy in space include: Create an economic roadmap for public investment and payback Develop an economic model to launch a market economy in space Create a budget mechanism to finance a $200B budget for NASA In space, create a federally backed entity to regulate the space economy In space, create a federally backed entity to issue credit in space (loans, etc.) Create a mechanism to manage rent seeking and share wealth with taxpayers Currently none of these are being developed but doing so would unlock a surge of investment and economic growth within America today. Building Public Support Technology Roadmap Build the roadmap for the technical capabilities of a space frontier of 1M+. Develop workshop series with publicized outputs on an annual cadence. Make it international with Artemis partners. Economic Roadmap Create the economic plan to go small scale astronaut economy to a full market economy at scale. Create the framework to issue credit, repay loans, and inflate a space economy at scale. Understand the economics of a high-cost economy in space apply standard economic models. Develop knowledge of individual products and their cost and pricing based on expected technologies. Model how an economy in space will work and what inputs, skills, and jobs are needed to organize it. Develop Public Support Establish baseline polling on public support for a space frontier focused on jobs, growth, and payback. Ask the right questions. Build a public body of knowledge on what Americans really want and publicize to media sources. Educate the media. Conduct large-scale education activities to share knowledge with the public. Educate the public. Document and publicize these roadmap events. Summary Strategy follows vision and builds the core capabilities needed to implement a vision. A space frontier can be built. This future is possible. These are achievable objectives. It requires political mobilization driven by goals the public will support.
Political Mobilization A Campaign to Change the Future for America and the World "Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." — William Jennings Bryan Goal Reframe what the public expects of a space program from exploration by an elite few to an opportunity for a great many to benefit in order to increase support for more funding from 22% to 75%. NASA's Problem: High Favorability, Low Funding Data Points NASA's favorability rating is routinely in the range of 73-78% favorability. 69% of Americans say it is essential for U.S. to be a leader in space. Yet just 22% of Americans believe we spend "too little" on space (e.g. need to spend more). Just 12% see sending human astronauts to explore the Moon as a top priority. Just 11% see sending human astronauts to explore Mars as a top priority. Source: Pew Research Center, 2023 Causes Public perception views space as a zero-sum trade-off on Earthly priorities. Public sees space as exploration with no direct economic gain, always a cost. Opinion polls are narrowly focused on space exploration framing. Potential public support may not be identified, signals hidden by biased questions. Result Politicians today have no goal, language, or incentive to make a long-term bet on space given urgent needs at home and lack of a compelling narrative that attracts votes. Challenge Rebuild and recast the argument for a space frontier to a public hungry for a new American Dream. Help politicians gather the facts and insights necessary to build public support for a space frontier. Create the context in which politicians can compete and win elections by supporting the space frontier. Demonstrate that space can create working class jobs for the many, rather than just elite jobs for the few. Concept 5: Space is a Working Class Opportunity At scale, the space frontier will need regular working class people not elite astronauts. Flyover country no more; trade skills will be the most valued skills in space. Common jobs in space: Pipefitters, welders, ironworkers, farmers, manufacturing workers, miners. Key activities in space: Growing and processing food, manufacturing goods, processing ore. You can't build it, grow it, and process it remote even with a supplementary robot workforce. What this means: Massive worker opportunity for high paying jobs in a future of uncertain possibilities. We must paint a vision of space as a destination for working class jobs rather than as a source of tourism for the wealthy. Reframe Space as an Engine of Prosperity Target "Pocketbook Issues": Instead of high-minded aspiration, lead with a narrative of jobs, high wages, and double-digit economic growth. Promote the "Trifecta" Economy: Promote a high-wage space economy of the future that returns massive tax revenue to Earth. Restore the American Dream: Offer "normal" people a path to the middle class through space jobs paying $250/hour or more. Reframe Public Polling: Use investment-framed questions to reveal the hidden public appetite for bold, profitable public initiative. Emphasize "Bending Steel at Scale": Shift to a vision of "bending steel" in space that highlights blue-collar vision to build a space frontier. Mobilize Public Support Shape the Culture: Generate enthusiasm through large-scale public events, films, and merchandise to make space feel possible. Build a Robust Political Ecosystem: Establish a dedicated network of think tanks, lobbyists, and donor pools to promote ideas for a space frontier. Develop Campaign Playbooks: Create tools, assets, and talking points to help candidates win elections on a space-based growth platform. Billionaires as Ambassadors: Recruit the space billionaires (Musk, Bezos, etc.) to an annual broadcast event showcasing the space frontier and the benefits to all Americans. Wanted: Leaders with Vision America has had political visionaries in its past: Once we funded the Louisiana Purchase Once we built the Interstate Highway System Once we bought Alaska from the Russians Once we founded Land Grant Colleges Once we established the GI Bill Once we were the first to land men on the Moon Our history is built on the DNA of explorers and visionaries and our future can be too. Can we find political leadership able to shape the future in space? The Choice Now, it's time for you to vote and choose your future. Please complete our survey and submit your votes.
Space Frontier Survey 2026 The Paradox Thesis We believe the American public's real support for an expansive program in space is significantly underestimated by the questions they are currently being asked. Goal We offer you a survey designed to challenge status quo assumptions with heretofore unasked questions about support for an expansive future in space. Summary The public has a range of views about America's future in space. Most polling frames questions about space as space exploration. We recommend testing alternative framing focused on jobs, growth, and payback of public funds.
Learn and Engage Learning resources you can use to engage students of all ages. Challenge status quo thinking with materials that redefine what may be possible. Books The New Frontier Playbook by Scott Phillips (2024): A political economic plan for an American space program that delivers a vast payoff in public value in the form of growth, jobs, and economic prosperity. 2045: Saudi Arabia's Space Colony by Scott Phillips (2025): A futures thinking scenario: Saudi Arabia and similar countries with vision and resources could achieve major space opportunities over the next decade. The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space by Gerard K. O'Neill (1976): Outlines a vision for permanent human settlements in space built from lunar and asteroid materials located at stable Lagrange points. Free Resources Space Policy and Public Polling Are we asking America the right questions? Learning resources that explore how we frame questions about space policy. Asteroid Mining Takes Off! The bold opportunity to create a new industry. Learning resources to explore the future of asteroid mining for students.
FAQs Can't we just rely on Elon Musk to do all this for us? No. Recently Mr. Musk pivoted away from his goal of building a colony on Mars for lack of public funding. It has always been the case that the sums are so large that only national governments can rally the funding necessary to both build and maintain any large presence in space. Musk's pivot merely proves the point that he must also find public funding to support his projects in space. Can public benefits be achieved from space? There are significant risks in attempting to implement a larger presence in space. However, a major multi-decade initiative designed to foster economic growth by building a space frontier would almost certainly catalyze massive growth on Earth. It would also be sustainable over the long-term if that economy began to generate significant tax revenue. The first generation of Asteroid mining firms failed. What did we learn? We learned that venture capital is risk averse despite their rhetoric and self-image. They have a short-term horizon for getting a return on investment, have no desire to lose money on risky bets, and only invest big when payoffs are highly certain and the market is already developed. Once the market is confirmed, they invest vast sums of money to get a piece of the pie. When it comes to Asteroid mining, the first wave of startups had no market demand for asteroid materials and venture capital had no appetite to provide funding at scale. The lesson learned is that public funding to create a market is critical to launch the industry.
About The New Frontier Playbook was first published as a website (2018), then as a book (2024), and now as a complementary site with educational resources. Our focus has been on how to create public value from a future space economy. We believe the wealth generated from a space frontier could help solve some of our greatest Earthly challenges. Bio Scott Phillips is the author of The New Frontier Playbook and other works of nonfiction and fiction. His writing focuses on exploring new technologies such as AI, Space, and Robotics at the intersection of political, economic, and social change. Support If you would like to support the bold vision pitched by this site, please feel free to buy the author a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/newfrontierplaybook.