The Bottleneck

While one might hear that "getting there is half the fun," another version of the saying is that "getting there is half the battle," and such is certainly true with manned space exploration (and the settlement of the solar system to follow).  Getting off of Earth and to another destination is a bottleneck, not only technologically, but also economically, politically, and otherwise.  The foundation that SpaceX (and others) are starting to build will hopefully lead to a bottleneck that is less and less constricting as time goes by - but it's important to remember that a bottleneck is a potential chokepoint, and so the initial settlements would do well to pursue self-sufficiency as soon as possible.

Building a Foundation

Although more commonly referred to as SpaceX, the full name of Space Exploration Technologies gives a better idea of the company's purpose, which is seen throughout the SpaceX family of technology:

• reusuable rockets reduce cost, increase access, and pave the way for landing large rockets propulsively on other worlds
• the Falcon 9 rocket system provides the foundation for the Falcon Heavy system, simplifying the development of a heavy-lift vehicle
• the development of a methane engine looks forward to rockets being refueled and relaunched from the surface of Mars
• the integrated launch escape system doubles as a propulsive landing system, allowing for landings on any surface in the solar syste
• the cargo version of the Dragon was designed to also serve as a manned vehicle from the start

At every point, the SpaceX designs are superfluous for the satellite-launching and ISS-servicing missions - but all of these designs are looking forward to a greater purpose, and laying a foundation for the first manned space exploration program since Apollo.

Red Dragon

SpaceX just announced that it plans to launch an unmanned Red Dragon mission to Mars in 2018.

An early guess: Mojave Crater.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/04/27/spacex-says-it-will-fly-a-spacecraft-to-mars-as-soon-as-2018/

http://www.theverge.com/2016/4/27/11514844/spacex-mars-mission-date-red-dragon-rocket-elon-musk

Circles and Lines

Human exploration of the solar system has stagnated since the last Apollo mission to the moon, and with no sailors straying far from shore, no ships have been built toward those ends; rather than a starship Enterprise (or at least a step in that direction), there was a shuttle Enterprise - a spaceship that never went into space.

Work is now underway, however, to again send humans beyond low Earth orbit, to send human explorers out into the solar system.  Whereas the last 40+ years have been spent going in circles, the next 40+ years offer the promise of heading out into the frontier - and this time, to stay.

(Beyond) Earth Day

There is an oft-repeated argument against the settlement of the solar system which goes something to the effect of, "we should take care of this planet first."  But settlement of the solar system is not an enemy to caring for Earth's environment, for just as the settlement of the New World did not mean the abandonment of the Old World, so also it would be with humanity's expansion into many new worlds from this one.

The Final Frontier

"Space... the final frontier..."

This line is true in the sense of the frontier (or, rather, frontiers) of space being farther off than any of the frontiers of Earth, but in looking at the effectively unlimited nature of space, the word "final" seems ill-suited, as each subsequent frontier reached is but a stepping stone to many more that lay beyond.

The Chicken and the Egg

In many areas of technology, it's easy to see how investment leads to development and development leads to greater investment, in a system of positive feedback.  Early investments in cell phone technology, for instance, led to the development of better cell phones, which led to wider adoption, which in turn led to increased investment in cell phone technology.  Since the end of the Apollo program, however, this process has been fairly stunted in terms of space-related technology, but there are signs that the industry (or, at least, some elements of the space industry) may be turning a corner, and cheaper access to space (see: reusable rockets) may help to drive expanding investment and development on a rapidly increasing scale.