SpaceX and NASA's joint launch of an astronaut expedition to the International Space Station is a milestone in space history.
As our experts advanced at the meeting of the Future Trends Forum on the Commercialization of Space, private initiatives are beginning to take center stage in the special industry, with a recent private expedition to space.
The first private initiative has become a reality with the joint launch of SpaceX and NASA. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, powered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, has carried astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. This mission, which inaugurates commercial flights and is a milestone in space history, opens the possibility for anyone to pay to go to space.
Source: NASA
After a first attempt at launch, which was not possible due to weather problems, the second attempt, this time successfully, took place on Saturday, May 30 with A live broadcast for everyone.
We wanted to highlight several aspects of this historic trip, which distinguishes it from all the previous ones:
- The Crew Dragon capsule travels on autopilot, it has its course marked for the International Space Station thanks to GPS technology. Should any unforeseen events arise, the travelers could take command of the ship at any time.
- The trip to the ISS took 19 hours.
- The capsule automatically docked with the bow of the Space Station to allow astronauts to access it.
- The Crew Dragon’s solar cells allow it to spend no more than 120 days in orbit (or annexed to the ISS), so its return will take place within 4 months.
- The capsule’s return to the planet will take place with or without travelers, but in a different way. Through the process that SpaceX has already reviewed several times, the descent will be done slowly since 4 large parachutes will reduce their fall speed until they fall 450 km off the coast of Florida and are picked up by a ship.
- The rocket that launched the capsule successfully returned to Earth. These reusable rockets will greatly reduce the costs of these trips.
As the experts of the Future Trends Forum anticipated, it is the first space trip managed by a private company, which will facilitate the next step of space exploration and be a little closer to space tourism.
If you want to know more about the possibilities that space commercialization offers, don’t miss the experts’ analysis in our publication on “Space Commercialization”.
