( CNN ) -- Recently , technology enthusiasts around the planet had the opportunity to get better acquainted with Elon Musk , the creator of SpaceX , the first privately owned company to send a spacecraft to the space station . Launched in the same manner as a Silicon Valley startup , SpaceX designed and manufactured the Dragon capsule , which successfully completed a mission with the International Space Station before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean . I see Musk , a 40-year-old entrepreneur who made his fortune by co-founding PayPal , as a `` visioneer . '' That is to say , he is someone who combines scientific and engineering prowess -- in his case , a degree in physics -- with an expansive view of how technology will upend traditional economic models , and has the ability to inspire others to support his work . Musk has bold visions for the future . When he finished college , he identified three areas that could change the world . One was the Internet ; another was new sources of energy ; and the third was transforming our civilization in such a way so that it could expand out into the solar system . His success with PayPal and then with Tesla Motors -- a company he started that makes high-performance electric roadsters -- pushed him to take on the challenge of SpaceX . The successful launch of Dragon was a big step toward the completion of Musk 's trifecta . Musk 's entrepreneurial activities rest on the shoulders of previous visioneers . In the 1970s , Princeton physicist Gerard O'Neill achieved celebrity status for designing and advocating free-floating space colonies as the new frontier for humanity . In 1977 , when California hosted its first Space Day , O'Neill 's ideas were discussed by scientists , aerospace executives and politicians , including then-Gov . Jerry Brown . While today , such visions of the future seem fantastical -- space colonies ... really ? -- they make more sense if seen in the context of their time . In O'Neill 's day , fears of overpopulation , resource shortages and general eco-catastrophism permeated public discussions and popular culture as people fretted about an impending era of limits . Compared with that era 's other mega-projects such as the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline , O'Neill 's ideas were not so far-fetched . Musk has inherited O'Neill 's concept for the `` humanization of space . '' But like other dot-com billionaires who make up the so-called NewSpace movement , his pursuits have a decided libertarian strain . Many visioneers champion free markets , less government , fewer regulations and profits for those who test the technological envelope . This is different from what O'Neill had in mind , which aimed mostly to benefit society at large . Musk may be the most prominent visioneer , but he is not the only one . Recently , the New York Times profiled J. Craig Venter , the biologist-entrepreneur who is hoping to create bioengineered bacteria that can generate food and fuel for an increasingly crowded planet . Then there are others who have proposed radical geoengineering schemes , such as injecting tons of sunlight-reflecting particulates into the stratosphere as a way to address the threat of climate change . So far , America has remained the No.1 destination for people such as Musk or Venter . As the rest of the world catches up -- think China -- and competes with us on innovation and technology , we must make sure that our country can continue to attract brilliant minds who can take speculative ideas out of the hands of sci-fi writers and technological forecasters and put them on firmer ground . The U.S. government as well as private groups like the X Prize Foundation can play an important role in stimulating and helping budding visioneers through prizes , funding or other forms of support . For someone like Musk , the present is merely a prototype -- a provisional plan for what may become a magnificent and perhaps less limited future . Who knows , his trailblazing might just make it feasible and affordable for you to take a vacation to Mars . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of W. Patrick McCray .
SpaceX successfully launched the Dragon capsule to the space station . W. Patrick McCray : Elon Musk , founder of SpaceX , is a `` visioneer '' who has been working on his vision for Mars colonization since he was in high school. McCray : America must make sure it remains the top destination for visioneers .