We’re all dependent upon and paying for the satellites hurtling above for our GPS systems, mobile phones, television broadcasts and weather information. But our recent sorties into space, including this visit to Space Station reflect a tipping point for humankind. We are hailing in a new generation for whom commercial space flight will be seen as ordinary as hopping on a flight across the Atlantic. Governments must embrace this change rather than fight it because, just like the sea-bound explorers or the past, it represents the ever-steady progress of science, innovation and travel and will underpin our economic and social progress.