The Next Frontier of Space Traveling is Upon Us
On Friday, NASA awarded a work order to Elon Musk’s private space company, SpaceX, to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. Boeing obtained a similar order for a manned flight back in May. The missions will take place on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as well as Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner space probes.
No Details Yet, But the Launches Are Set for 2017
The contracts specify launches in late 2017, provided they fulfill all the required certifications and also Congress allots enough funding for the goals. This will make for the very first time private space companies are used to deliver United States astronauts into space – the United States had been relying on Russia to transport astronauts to and from the ISS after the discontinuation of its shuttle bus program in 2011. NASA said the SpaceX and Boeing flights will cost less each seat than Russia’s Soyuz pills, which cost $70 million per seat.
Funding Might Not Work Out for NASA
If funding from Congress is not enough to cover the contracts, the trips will certainly be delayed and the firm will have to proceed hitching rides on Russian spacecrafts. NASA has not specified the price of the SpaceX as well as Boeing contracts. In a statement, SpaceX declared that when Crew Dragon takes NASA astronauts to the space station in 2017, they will certainly be riding in among the most safe, most dependable space probe ever before flown.
