4 ms·

This is so sad. Are we betting on SpaceX to get us back into space now?

by sung1 15y ago

jordan0day 15y ago
There's no betting going on at all. We're using the Russians (Soyuz) for now, and for the foreseeable future. Private firms like SpaceX or another NASA vehicle are a possibility, but neither of those options has been proven out at all, and certainly will not be ready for at least several years.
- OstiaAntica 15y ago
  SpaceX has the Dragon. http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
  - jordan0day 15y ago
    Yes, but the earliest estimate for a manned Dragon launch is 2014. Don't get me wrong -- I'm really pulling for SpaceX and sincerely hoping they are successful. In hindsight, my "proven out" comment sounds more pessimistic than was meant.
- ramidarigaz 15y ago
  Not exactly correct. Spacex hopes to do the first resupply mission to the station before the end of the year. http://www.spacex.com/launch_manifest.php http://www.spacex.com/launch_manifest.php
  - jordan0day 15y ago
    You're absolutely right. I probably should have qualified my statement as referring to manned exploration. (Sung1's comment did say "get us back into space"... I assumed the "us" referred to humans).
    - ramidarigaz 15y ago
      Ah! In that case I do agree with you.
    - ak217 15y ago
      Elon Musk (SpaceX) has stated that he will not be satisfied until they get a fully reusable launch vehicle, and that he aims to go for a Mars mission. Given SpaceX's record, it might happen sooner than you think. http://www.spacex.com/updates.php http://www.spacex.com/updates.php http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/elon-musk-spacex-rocket-mars http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/elon-musk-s...
encoderer 15y ago
Due diligence has already been done by NASA. Contracts have already been signed. The Dragon is a go for ISS service. I know at first this seems like a big and very risky and very uncertain change. But it's not: The private sector aerospace companies have been engineering and building our spacecraft all along^. This is evolutionary, incremental. LEO is a solved problem now. By letting the private sector take over this tier, it frees NASA to work on advancing the science and state-of-the-art of further exploration. ^ Yes, of course NASA engineers were in the drivers seat, especially in engineering the systems, with private companies focusing on particular components. But my larger point of evolution v. revolution is the context I was getting at.

This is so sad. Are we betting on SpaceX to get us back into space now?

by sung1 15y ago

This is so sad. Are we betting on SpaceX to get us back into space now?

There's no betting going on at all. We're using the Russians (Soyuz) for now, and for the foreseeable future. Private firms like SpaceX or another NASA vehicle are a possibility, but neither of those options has been proven out at all, and certainly will not be ready for at least several years.

OstiaAntica 15y ago
SpaceX has the Dragon. http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
- jordan0day 15y ago
  Yes, but the earliest estimate for a manned Dragon launch is 2014. Don't get me wrong -- I'm really pulling for SpaceX and sincerely hoping they are successful. In hindsight, my "proven out" comment sounds more pessimistic than was meant.
ramidarigaz 15y ago
Not exactly correct. Spacex hopes to do the first resupply mission to the station before the end of the year. http://www.spacex.com/launch_manifest.php http://www.spacex.com/launch_manifest.php
- jordan0day 15y ago
  You're absolutely right. I probably should have qualified my statement as referring to manned exploration. (Sung1's comment did say "get us back into space"... I assumed the "us" referred to humans).
  - ramidarigaz 15y ago
    Ah! In that case I do agree with you.
  - ak217 15y ago
    Elon Musk (SpaceX) has stated that he will not be satisfied until they get a fully reusable launch vehicle, and that he aims to go for a Mars mission. Given SpaceX's record, it might happen sooner than you think. http://www.spacex.com/updates.php http://www.spacex.com/updates.php http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/elon-musk-spacex-rocket-mars http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/aug/01/elon-musk-s...

encoderer 15y ago

Due diligence has already been done by NASA. Contracts have already been signed. The Dragon is a go for ISS service. I know at first this seems like a big and very risky and very uncertain change. But it's not: The private sector aerospace companies have been engineering and building our spacecraft all along^. This is evolutionary, incremental. LEO is a solved problem now. By letting the private sector take over this tier, it frees NASA to work on advancing the science and state-of-the-art of further exploration. ^ Yes, of course NASA engineers were in the drivers seat, especially in engineering the systems, with private companies focusing on particular components. But my larger point of evolution v. revolution is the context I was getting at.