An economist and historian Alexander MacDonald wrote his doctorate on the economic history of American space exploration and is the author of the book The Long Space Age published in 2017. He is an expert on private enterprises involvements in space exploration from the early days of astronomical observation in the 18th century, through to the private public partnership of the Apollo program and the evolving relationship between NASA and the private sector in the last decade.

In this interview, Alexander explains how business has always had a place in America's efforts in exploring and understanding the cosmos, and gives us an insight into how NASA's relationship with commercial partners such as SpaceX and Blue Origin will advance our exploration of the solar system.