Month: December 2013

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Will You Tip the Pizza Delivery Drone? Commercial Drone Usage Now and in the Future

Unmanned aerial systems, also known as drones, have maintained a lasting presence in the headlines over the past few years, whether it was their applications in the United States’ wars or concerns about domestic use of drones for surveillance and law enforcement. Interestingly, drones are not limited purely to military and government use. The field is quickly expanding to include civilian and commercial applications. While hobbyists can now simply pick up a drone at stores such as Barnes and Noble[1], commercial usage of drones has yet to make a significant impact on our society as of yet.  Funding is abundant, however, so within the next few years, our society will change rapidly with the introduction of commercial drone use. One must ask him or herself: Will drones be buzzing around us within a few years, delivering items and performing services?

Drones can be used for any number of … Read the rest

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Should Tax Credits as an Incentive for Higher Education be Eliminated?

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One of the biggest contributors to rising disparity in America today is the widening earnings gap between workers with college degrees and those without.[1] Higher education remains a good investment, even though some new grads are currently struggling to get jobs. Over the past two decades, lawmakers have progressively asked the tax code to direct all manner of social and economic objectives (e.g. home buying, adoption, attending college, trading in a clunker for a newer car, etc.). In regards to federal assistance for higher education expenses, tax credits and deductions are relatively new.[2]

 

Lawmakers have increasingly used tax credits to aid students in covering the cost of college. From 1997 [3], the first year these credits … Read the rest

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Space for Private Investment: Entrepreneurs of the Final Frontier

On May 25, 2012 Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (commonly referred to as “SpaceX”) made history, with its Dragon capsule becoming the first private spacecraft to dock with and supply the International Space Station (ISS).[i] Though the capsule was unmanned, the event marked an important milestone in human spaceflight. Since then, SpaceX has made two more flights to the ISS as part of its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.[ii] On September 29, 2013, Orbital Sciences Corporation (“Orbital”) docked its Cygnus spacecraft with the ISS, becoming the second private company to do so.[iii] Like SpaceX, Orbital will make additional supply flights to the space station in connection with the CRS program.[iv] Despite accomplishing a similar task as a part of the same program, the two companies represent vastly different approaches. While Orbital represents a more traditional approach in the space industry, SpaceX provides a vision … Read the rest