section_path: Application
section_name: Application
paragraph_text: Application
  
  Outer space has become an important element of global society. It provides multiple applications that are beneficial to the economy and scientific research.
  
  The placing of artificial satellites in Earth orbit has produced numerous benefits and has become the dominating sector of the space economy. They allow relay of long-range communications like television, provide a means of precise navigation, and permit direct monitoring of weather conditions and remote sensing of the Earth. The latter role serves a variety of purposes, including tracking soil moisture for agriculture, prediction of water outflow from seasonal snow packs, detection of diseases in plants and trees, and surveillance of military activities. They facilitate the discovery and monitoring of climate change influences. Satellites make use of the significantly reduced drag in space to stay in stable orbits, allowing them to efficiently span the whole globe, compared to for example stratospheric balloons or high-altitude platform stations, which have other benefits.
  
  The absence of air makes outer space an ideal location for astronomy at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is evidenced by the spectacular pictures sent back by the Hubble Space Telescope, allowing light from more than 13 billion years ago—almost to the time of the Big Bang—to be observed. Not every location in space is ideal for a telescope. The interplanetary zodiacal dust emits a diffuse near-infrared radiation that can mask the emission of faint sources such as extrasolar planets. Moving an infrared telescope out past the dust increases its effectiveness. Likewise, a site like the Daedalus crater on the far side of the Moon could shield a radio telescope from the radio frequency interference that hampers Earth-based observations.
  
  The deep vacuum of space could make it an attractive environment for certain industrial processes, such as those requiring ultraclean surfaces. Like asteroid mining, space manufacturing would require a large financial investment with little prospect of immediate return. An important factor in the total expense is the high cost of placing mass into Earth orbit: $ 9,000 –$ 30,000 per kg, according to a 2006 estimate (allowing for inflation since then). The cost of access to space has declined since 2013. Partially reusable rockets such as the Falcon 9 have lowered access to space below 3500 dollars per kilogram. With these new rockets the cost to send materials into space remains prohibitively high for many industries. Proposed concepts for addressing this issue include, fully reusable launch systems, non-rocket spacelaunch, momentum exchange tethers, and space elevators.
  
  Interstellar travel for a human crew remains at present only a theoretical possibility. The distances to the nearest stars mean it would require new technological developments and the ability to safely sustain crews for journeys lasting several decades. For example, the Daedalus Project study, which proposed a spacecraft powered by the fusion of deuterium and helium-3, would require 36 years to reach the "nearby" Alpha Centauri system. Other proposed interstellar propulsion systems include light sails, ramjets, and beam-powered propulsion. More advanced propulsion systems could use antimatter as a fuel, potentially reaching relativistic velocities.
  
  From the Earth's surface, the ultracold temperature of outer space can be used as a renewable cooling technology for various applications on Earth through passive daytime radiative cooling. This enhances longwave infrared (LWIR) thermal radiation heat transfer through the amosphere's infrared window into outer space, lowering ambient temperatures. Photonic metamaterials can be used to suppress solar heating.