Part 10/16:
Cost of Launching into Space: From the early days of the space shuttle (~$50 million per launch) to the reusability of Falcon 9 (~$2,500/kg), and now SpaceX’s Starship (~$100/kg), launch costs are plummeting exponentially. Future concepts involve lunar electromagnetic mass drivers that can send payloads into Earth orbit for pennies per kilogram—transforming space into a new resource frontier.
Mining and Colonization: The idea of "disassembling" asteroids and moons for materials—metals, energy, and other commodities—becomes feasible. Colonies in orbit, on the Moon, Mars, or even in the asteroid belt, could gradually de-territorialize Earth’s resource constraints.