When this time comes, NASA will finally choose its preferred space vehicle, Boeing or SpaceX, to launch American astronauts to the ISS for good from American soil as the last Space Shuttle mission ended in 2011. The announcement was certainly not a shock, but demonstrates that a catastrophic rocket crash previous year did not daunt the contract.
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Commercial crew missions to ISS, on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, and Boeing CST-100 Starliner will re-establish the human spaceflight capabilities of America and raise the amount of time devoted to scientific study aboard the orbiting laboratory.
According to a new report, NASA gives green signal to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Company to carry astronauts aboard the worldwide Space Station (ISS).
This is the second of four guaranteed orders by NASA a contract, with Boeing having the first mission back in May of this year. In developments on another contract, the company’s competitor, United Launch Alliance, said Monday that it would not bid to launch a Global Positioning System satellite for the Pentagon – leaving SpaceX as the only bidder.
Friday was indeed a big day for SpaceX as NASA has officially placed an order to it for a manned mission to the worldwide Space Station in 2017.
An honourable mentions for being a contributer to #SpaceVine goes to the ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti who was only recently featured last week for her inclusion of her space soundtrack that she listened to aboard the space station while performing a number of important scientific experiments. As of now, NASA is not equipped with a primary spacecraft and heavily depends on on the Russian Soyuz rocket.
Until then, Musk’s legendary drive is reflected in the SpaceX’s tenacity to become an important player in the American space program. The South African-born entrepreneur’s initiative is flawless, but so is his track record with his various start-ups. These missions are likely to be launched in 2018. But ULA pulled out of the bidding largely because their rocket engines come from Russian Federation and Congress wants to restrict their use for military purposes. These contracts will allow them to increase the crew to seven. While the appearance stopped Howard’s whining, it did not really add much more than a chance for Musk to appear appealing and humble helping the homeless.
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Boeing got a similar go-ahead from NASA six months ago. One can only hope.
