Up to SpaceX
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been innovating in the world of spacecraft by reducing waste on missions while making them less costly for government and private funders. Under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the company received a $3.1 billion check to develop their system and launch six operational missions.
The Crew-1 mission which is set to launch on Sunday evening represents the first step towards a successful public and private sector partnership on something as big as space travel. NASA director of commercial spaceflight development Phil McAlister said on Thursday “it may not seem that profound right now … but I believe 20 years from now we’re going to look back at this time as a major turning point in our exploration and utilization of space.”
Due to current weather predictions in Florida, as of writing it is still unclear if the spacecraft will launch at its scheduled liftoff time at 7:27 p.m. ET. If NASA and SpaceX decide to take a rain check, the next available launch opportunity will be Wednesday at 6:16 p.m. ET.
After witnessing the success of SpaceX in an industry that was once dominated by only the public sector, is it fair to say that the private sector should have better access to these large government contracts? Or has the public sector been doing just fine?
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