The ambition of moving everything to orbit

In the previous few years, SpaceX has launched around 2,000 Starlink satellites. If Elon Musk's business, as well as Amazon, Boeing, China, and others, follow through on their ambitious ambitions to build constellations in low Earth orbit, over 30,000 new satellites might circle the planet in ten years. At a minimum, people can expect SpaceX and OneWeb to continue to launch hundreds more satellites during this year.

When it comes to space, there is always someone with a bigger vision. Flying around the Earth in space is one thing, but what about moving substantial portions of Earth's industries into space? These are not novel concepts. The concept of orbiting resorts, gardens, and even entire towns revolving around the planet with their own artificial gravity is a staple of science fiction. The somewhat different perspective that Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos would like to popularize is that people should move all polluting industries – and other more unseemly operations – into space, therefore conserving the ecosystem on Earth's surface.