It was a dizzying day for NASA. First, NASA executives announced that the space agency will open up parts of the International Space Station to more commercial opportunities, including hosting private astronauts, allowing companies unprecedented use of the space station’s facilities, including filming commercials or movies against the backdrop of space. The plans not only involve making room on the station for commercial services, but also reserves a docking berth for a privately owned and operated habitat module.
Jim Bridenstine, warned that the biggest challenge to the moon plan was not technological but rather the “political risk.” Speaking at the International Space Development Conference in Arlington, Bridenstine said, “How do we retire the political risk? We go faster. We accelerate the program. The longer it drags out, the more risk there is we’re going to get diverted into something else.”
But the cost and arrangements would be left to SpaceX and Boeing. Right now, the only viable option for crew getting to the ISS is via new spacecraft being developed by SpaceX and Boeing for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which still haven’t flown people yet. Neither SpaceX Dragon nor Boeing Starliner are ready. Their transport capsules are supposed to be ready in late 2019 but the timetable depends on the results of a series of tests. So the private missions will have to wait until 2020 at the earliest.
In this video Engineering Today will discuss NASA’s Plan to Open the International Space Station to Tourists. Why NASA wants to commercialize the International Space Station?
Let’s get into details.
#EngineeringToday #NASA #SpaceX
Inspired by
www.washingtonpost.com
www.theverge.com
www.newatlas.com
AUDIO:
Voiceover by Scott Leffler -- scottleffler.com
Thumbnail images:- AÏDA AMER/AXIOS
