Old Space vs. New Space

The Department of Physics hosted Mr. Maeda George from Japan on 24/06/2019 who gave a presentation on Space Science. The abstract below gives an account of old space vs new space.

The peak of Old Space occurred in 1969 when the United States of America put a man on the surface of the Moon and return him safely to Earth. This year, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of that event. But what happened after the success of NASA’s Apollo program? As many of you know, the public lost interest in space, and humanity’s activities in space went into deep freeze for a long time. I am profoundly aware of that space “ice age” because I lived through it; I was born in 1959. However, a robust recovery is finally underway, since about 2005. This recovery is called by many as New Space. And it is very different from Old Space. I will discuss this revolutionary paradigm shift. And this shift is important to all of humanity. Because of New Space, all countries, including the country of Uganda, can participate in space. In a nutshell, New Space has vastly lowered the barriers to getting involved in space. Therefore, I hope your country will passionately embrace this golden opportunity to explore and to exploit outer space for your own national needs.