--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm hopeful that commercial space…" description: "\"I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration will takeoff. To really fuel the spaceflight revolution will require an investment of hundreds of billion..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg" --- # I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration will… ![“I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration will takeoff. To really fuel the spaceflight revolution will require an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and I think that's only going to happen in the commercial sector - if there are large profits to be made.” quote by Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg) > “I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration will takeoff. To really fuel the spaceflight revolution will require an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and I think that's only going to happen in the commercial sector - if there are large profits to be made.” [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Commercial space will only grow when massive profits justify huge annual investments. **In simple terms:** Space growth needs big profit. Key Takeaway Invest in profitable space ventures. Themes space economics investment innovation Mood optimistic forward-looking Type strategic visionary When to use this quote - government funding - private sector - venture capital - large-scale projects Key Concepts market dynamics risk capital allocation Questions to Reflect On - How can public benefit be balanced with profit? - What incentives attract private investment? A Different Perspective Profit motives may limit early-stage research. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exploration Takeoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration-takeoff-3873787/) [Fuel Spaceflight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fuel-spaceflight-3873788/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-exploration/) [Spaceflight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spaceflight/) [Spaceflight Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spaceflight-revolution-3873786/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone who's been in space would, I'm sure, welcome the opportunity for a return to the exhilarating experiences there. For me, a flight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/everyone-who-s-been-in-space-would-i-m-sure-welcome-the-opportunity-2/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) > [Competition-driven innovation and price pressure that commercial practices foster can only make human spaceflight ever more common and U.S. leadership in this domain ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/competition-driven-innovation-and-price-pressure-that-commercial/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Having a diverse suite of U.S.-manned spaceflight systems to access space is inherently robust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/having-a-diverse-suite-of-u-s-manned-spaceflight-systems-to-access/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [We're in the space exploration business, and the outer solar system is a wild, wooly place. We haven't explored it very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/we-re-in-the-space-exploration-business-and-the-outer-solar-system-is/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It'll be the fastest spacecraft ever to Jupiter...13 months after launch. We pass the Moon in just nine hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-ll-be-the-fastest-spacecraft-ever-to-jupiter-13-months-after/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [This is in a real sense the capstone of the initial missions to explore the planets. Pluto, its moons and this part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/this-is-in-a-real-sense-the-capstone-of-the-initial-missions-to/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Spaceflight isn't just about doing experiments, it's about an extension of human culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hadfield/spaceflight-isn-t-just-about-doing-experiments-it-s-about-an/) [Chris Hadfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hadfield/) > [“One consequence of this train of argument is that, even if civilizations commonly arise on planets throughout the Galaxy, few of them will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/one-consequence-of-this-train-of-argument-is-that-even-if/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [SpaceX is not going to put us up into orbital spaceflight unprepared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-isaacman/spacex-is-not-going-to-put-us-up-into-orbital-spaceflight-unprepared/) [Jared Isaacman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-isaacman/) > [As I'm sure you may know, I'm planning to become a spaceflight participant and have been recently approved to begin my spaceflight training by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-brightman/as-i-m-sure-you-may-know-i-m-planning-to-become-a-spaceflight/) [Sarah Brightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-brightman/) > [I'm not in favor of manned spaceflight, because I don't see that it goes anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-faber/i-m-not-in-favor-of-manned-spaceflight-because-i-don-t-see-that-it/) [Sandra Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-faber/) > [My position is that it is high time for a calm debate on more fundamental questions. Does human spaceflight continue to serve a compelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-allen/my-position-is-that-it-is-high-time-for-a-calm-debate-on-more/) [James Van Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-allen/) > [The astronaut corps is a very small part of a very large team that enables human spaceflight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mcclain/the-astronaut-corps-is-a-very-small-part-of-a-very-large-team-that/) [Anne McClain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mcclain/) > [I find myself now preaching about the golden age of manned spaceflight, because something went on there, within us, that we’re missing. When we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/i-find-myself-now-preaching-about-the-golden-age-of-manned/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [There's a tremendously satisfying freedom associated with weightlessness. It's challenging in the absence of traction or leverage, and it requires thoughtful readjustment. I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/there-s-a-tremendously-satisfying-freedom-associated-with/) [Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/) ## More by Alan Stern > [Competition-driven innovation and price pressure that commercial practices foster can only make human spaceflight ever more common and U.S. leadership in this domain ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/competition-driven-innovation-and-price-pressure-that-commercial/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Of course Pluto is a planet: It's massive enough to have its shape controlled by gravity rather than material strength, which is the hallmark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/of-course-pluto-is-a-planet-it-s-massive-enough-to-have-its-shape/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [It used to be said that Pluto is a misfit. But now we know Earth is the misfit. This is the most populous class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/it-used-to-be-said-that-pluto-is-a-misfit-but-now-we-know-earth-is/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper belt region, which I call the third zone because it lies beyond the rocky terrestrial planets and beyond the giant planets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-region-which-i-call-the-third-zone-because-it-lies/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [I think if you were between maybe 6 and 16, there was nothing like Apollo, and I wonder if there can be something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-think-if-you-were-between-maybe-6-and-16-there-was-nothing-like/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If you put Earth out beyond Neptune, you wouldn't be able to call it a planet because it couldn't clear its zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-you-put-earth-out-beyond-neptune-you-wouldn-t-be-able-to-call-it-a/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Why would you listen to an astronomer about a planet?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/why-would-you-listen-to-an-astronomer-about-a-planet/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [When we first sent missions to Jupiter, no one expected to find moons that would have active volcanoes. And I could go down a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/when-we-first-sent-missions-to-jupiter-no-one-expected-to-find-moons/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [Pluto is still active four and a half billion years into its history. It was expected that small planets like Pluto would cool off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/pluto-is-still-active-four-and-a-half-billion-years-into-its-history/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [The Kuiper Belt is the largest mapped structure in our planetary system, three times as big as all the territory from the sun out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/the-kuiper-belt-is-the-largest-mapped-structure-in-our-planetary/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [If two billion people wanted to watch a robot fly by Pluto, imagine what it will be like when the first humans step on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/if-two-billion-people-wanted-to-watch-a-robot-fly-by-pluto-imagine/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [To keep everyone invested in your vision, you have to back up a little bit and really analyze who the different stakeholders are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/to-keep-everyone-invested-in-your-vision-you-have-to-back-up-a-little/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [We're going to find Marses and maybe Earths out in the solar system's attic of the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/we-re-going-to-find-marses-and-maybe-earths-out-in-the-solar-system-s/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [One of the implications of the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and its many small planets is that many scientists now think of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/one-of-the-implications-of-the-discovery-of-the-kuiper-belt-and-its/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) > [CASIS has to succeed because for it not to succeed would be a huge setback for the International Space Station program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/casis-has-to-succeed-because-for-it-not-to-succeed-would-be-a-huge/) [Alan Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) [Explore all 102 Alan Stern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/) ## More Revolution quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Subsequent to the original Quicken, the whole idea that we, as a consumer products company, could actually make business products, that was a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/subsequent-to-the-original-quicken-the-whole-idea-that-we-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [I'm not in the business of bayoneting the wounded. I feel the blockchain revolution is kind of my victory. I don't care whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-m-byrne/i-m-not-in-the-business-of-bayoneting-the-wounded-i-feel-the/) [Patrick M. Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-m-byrne/) > [Oppression that is clearly inexorable and invincible does not give rise to revolt but to submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/oppression-that-is-clearly-inexorable-and-invincible-does-not-give/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Patriotism is a fierce love for the nation’s soul - its land, its people, its core, coupled with a burning contempt for a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/njau-kihia/patriotism-is-a-fierce-love-for-the-nation-s-soul-its-land-its-people/) [Njau Kihia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/njau-kihia/) > [“As morally troubling and politically charged as the issue of inequality has become, it's not likely to cause a populist revolt. Most Americans still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frank/as-morally-troubling-and-politically-charged-as-the-issue-of/) [Robert Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frank/) > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The plight of the Baha'i community in Iran has served as a backdrop to my life growing up in London, particularly since the Islamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/the-plight-of-the-baha-i-community-in-iran-has-served-as-a-backdrop/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The mind of a child is where the Revolution begins,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/the-mind-of-a-child-is-where-the-revolution-begins/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [History respects revolutions; and yet, if a revolution is progressive, support it; if it is reactionary, resist it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/history-respects-revolutions-and-yet-if-a-revolution-is-progressive/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) [Hugh Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-williamson/) [Browse all 6,280 Revolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration will takeoff. To really fuel the spaceflight revolution will require an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars a year, and I think that's only going to happen in the commercial sector - if there are large profits to be made.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Stern" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-exploration-will-takeoff-to-really/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Revolution" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-exploration-will-takeoff-to-really/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d11/alan-stern-5283_revolution_i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-explor_2052264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration will takeoff. To really fuel the spaceflight revolution will…” — Alan Stern", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Stern", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-stern/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm hopeful that commercial space exploration...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-exploration-will-takeoff-to-really/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-stern/i-m-hopeful-that-commercial-space-exploration-will-takeoff-to-really/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```