practice, the Russians want to demonstrate their independence from American
decisions and their autonomy from Beijing, which is working relentlessly on the
construction of its own space station.
12
Obviously, it is absurd to think that the US can completely disengage from
human exploration of space, since there is not only a political cost, but also a problem of maintaining the country’s image at home and in the world. The fact that
China will have its own station orbiting the Earth in 2024
13
will put Beijing’s
astronauts on the same tactical and political level as their American colleagues on
the ISS – a situation hardly acceptable to Washington, whichever administration is
in charge. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the American government is implementing a strategy that sees NASA and the Pentagon work alongside new private
companies that are venturing into the space business, creating reusable rockets
and modern spaceships with which to bring American astronauts back into low
Earth and lunar orbit.
14
Within two decades, the productive union between the Pentagon, NASA and
private entrepreneurship should have already created reusable rockets capable of
taking off every week from multiple bases on American territory, and even from
maritime mobile platforms, to launch civil and military satellites as well as crewed
spaceships. SpaceX, for example, has already become an important supplier to
NASA and the Pentagon, going in 16 years from 15 to 5,000 employees with
seven locations in the US, including offices, launch bases, factories and test facilities.
15
In 2020, the company achieved an historical goal: it brought American
astronauts back to space, taking off from American soil for the first time since the
end of the space shuttle flights in 2011. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug
Hurley safely returned to Earth inside the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon after their historic two-month mission at the ISS.
With this successful mission, the Crew Dragon spaceship has successfully
completed its first-ever passenger flight to orbit.
16
As SpaceX takes on the job of
launching astronauts, NASA, as well as the whole world, is now entering a new
era of human spaceflight, where private companies are the ones regularly flying
12
https://www.businessinsider.com/china-building-a-new-space-station-2018-5?IR=T.
13
Joint Report of United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and China Manned Space
Agency. 2018. Handbook on China Space Station and its Resources for International
Cooperation.
14
https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/608888main_CCP.pdf.
15
boost-the-closer-to-the-equator-a-mission-is-the-faster-Earths-rotation-is-and-the-less-fuel-arocket-has-to-burn-to-reach-orbit-21.
1 6
h t t p s : / / w w w. e c o n o m i s t . c o m / s c i e n c e - a n d - t e c h n o l o g y / 2 0 2 0 / 0 6 / 0 4 /
the-crew-dragon-mission-is-a-success-for-spacex-and-for-nasa.
124 Mars: Next Stop?
decisions and their autonomy from Beijing, which is working relentlessly on the
construction of its own space station.
12
Obviously, it is absurd to think that the US can completely disengage from
human exploration of space, since there is not only a political cost, but also a problem of maintaining the country’s image at home and in the world. The fact that
China will have its own station orbiting the Earth in 2024
13
will put Beijing’s
astronauts on the same tactical and political level as their American colleagues on
the ISS – a situation hardly acceptable to Washington, whichever administration is
in charge. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that the American government is implementing a strategy that sees NASA and the Pentagon work alongside new private
companies that are venturing into the space business, creating reusable rockets
and modern spaceships with which to bring American astronauts back into low
Earth and lunar orbit.
14
Within two decades, the productive union between the Pentagon, NASA and
private entrepreneurship should have already created reusable rockets capable of
taking off every week from multiple bases on American territory, and even from
maritime mobile platforms, to launch civil and military satellites as well as crewed
spaceships. SpaceX, for example, has already become an important supplier to
NASA and the Pentagon, going in 16 years from 15 to 5,000 employees with
seven locations in the US, including offices, launch bases, factories and test facilities.
15
In 2020, the company achieved an historical goal: it brought American
astronauts back to space, taking off from American soil for the first time since the
end of the space shuttle flights in 2011. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug
Hurley safely returned to Earth inside the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon after their historic two-month mission at the ISS.
With this successful mission, the Crew Dragon spaceship has successfully
completed its first-ever passenger flight to orbit.
16
As SpaceX takes on the job of
launching astronauts, NASA, as well as the whole world, is now entering a new
era of human spaceflight, where private companies are the ones regularly flying
12
https://www.businessinsider.com/china-building-a-new-space-station-2018-5?IR=T.
13
Joint Report of United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and China Manned Space
Agency. 2018. Handbook on China Space Station and its Resources for International
Cooperation.
14
https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/608888main_CCP.pdf.
15
boost-the-closer-to-the-equator-a-mission-is-the-faster-Earths-rotation-is-and-the-less-fuel-arocket-has-to-burn-to-reach-orbit-21.
1 6
h t t p s : / / w w w. e c o n o m i s t . c o m / s c i e n c e - a n d - t e c h n o l o g y / 2 0 2 0 / 0 6 / 0 4 /
the-crew-dragon-mission-is-a-success-for-spacex-and-for-nasa.
124 Mars: Next Stop?