Virgin made a potentially huge announcement in the scope of human civilization yesterday as it publicly debuted the first piloted commercial spaceship.

As referenced in the linked article, Spaceship 2 and its carrier White Knight 2 will shuttle civilian passengers to the fringes of space, just below low-earth-orbiting satellites. Funnily enough, going beyond that range would put shuttle missions in danger of being knocked around by the colossal amount of space garbage circling earth in each of the tiers of normal satellite operation.

The current manifestation of Virgin Galactic amounts to little more than a Six Flags – Stratosphere theme park for the affluent; a zero-gravity joy ride for those that can afford one of the premium seats. However, what this endeavor represents is something a great deal more important.

It seems less and less likely that the faltering first world states of this planet will make any real attempt at space colonization. A global depression, a shrinking resource base, an increasing population and a deteriorating environment may distract world leaders from this vital task before conditions on the ground become too dire to wait.

The only viable alternative left may be for a college of intrepid corporations to take over this vital role. Instead of a unified human race approaching the great unknown with a noble, science-based, inquisitive approach, the galaxy may be franchised out as corporate rivals gleefully spread the mantra of free-market capitalism to the far reaches of space. Nauseatingly, this may be the last, best, hope for mankind.

I’ve made no secret of my affinity for the Virgin brand. It seems to belong to that small cadre of evolved corporations — innovative brands with strong independent leadership and a desire to impact the world in a positive way. (As I re-read that last sentence, I stifle a gag reflex as I’ve just written a sentence entirely in vapid PR-speak.)

But, I should give credit where credit is due. Given my usual distopian ramblings, it is heartening to see someone looking out for the future of mankind. As Robert Heinlein said,

“Earth is too small a basket for mankind to keep all its eggs in.”

And even if the new galactic baskets hold only the corruptible, self-serving eggs, I suppose that’s better than no eggs at all.

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