NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 6

Editor's Note by Scott Sutherland

Executive Editor, NFPA Journal

Space Age 2.0
ack in early February, I tuned
in online to watch the launch
of the Falcon Heavy rocket
at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center. The event was a public
relations spectacle concocted by SpaceX,
the Elon Musk company that has become a
leading player in the burgeoning commercial space flight industry. To demonstrate its
technical prowess to the world, SpaceX used
the NASA facility to launch its massive new
rocket into orbit, which in turn deployed
a satellite of sorts-Musk's own cherry-red
convertible roadster, built by Tesla, his
electric vehicle company. The car emerged
from the nose cone and set off in the general
direction of Mars, a helmeted figure in a
space suit seated behind the wheel-at last,
Major Tom could ditch his tin can and float
through space in style.
I grew up during the Apollo missions,
NASA's golden age, and I'd been prepared to
be underwhelmed by the SpaceX event. But
the more I watched, the more I was aware of
my jaw sliding toward the floor-the Falcon
Heavy extravaganza was P.T. Barnum meets
David Bowie meets an army of talented
rocket scientists, and it's fair to say I was
mesmerized. I lost count of the number of
times I uttered an incredulous "no way" out
loud. The launch of the car, with Bowie's

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Scott Sutherland
ssutherland@nfpa.org

"Starman" for a soundtrack, was impressive, but it was the synchronized landings
of the rocket's two reusable outer engine
cores back on Earth that sealed it for me,
a bit of space-tech ballet worthy of 2001: A
Space Odyssey. The reusable main engine
core missed its landing mark, but it seemed
churlish and nitpicky to dwell on it.
Between the Falcon Heavy launch and
this issue's cover story on spaceports (Jesse
Roman's "Primed for Lift-Off," starting on
page 28), I've received a crash course in
the commercial space industry. The anticipated demand for spaceports, driven by an
industry seemingly poised for significant
growth, has prompted NASA to ask NFPA
to consider developing a standard for the
construction, management, and safety operations of the facilities. NFPA has spent more
than a century developing forward-looking
codes and standards for a galaxy of emerging technologies, and it seems only fitting
that it's now considering offering muchneeded spaceport guidance to private-sector
innovators. Besides the rock 'n' roll showmanship, the Falcon Heavy event was an
emphatic acknowledgement of the capabilities of the commercial space industry, and
the calls for supporting infrastructure seem
especially apt and timely. Build it, and they
will launch.

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