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NASA and SpaceX will launch a joint mission today that will take four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Photo: NASA
NASA and SpaceX will launch a joint mission today that will take four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
The astronauts, including three from NASA and one from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will depart from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Today’s launch marks the first manned mission launched from US soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
The launch comes in the wake of US President-elect Joe Biden’s announcement of a NASA transition team that includes two former NASA chief scientists, a former astronaut and an environmental scientist, among others.
While the team has yet to announce official policies, Biden’s NASA agenda is expected to follow that of President Obama and build on the Democratic Party platform prioritizing environmental research over new space exploration. President Trump’s current proposal for a manned moon mission in 2024 will likely be delayed and his plan to end ISS government funding by 2025 will likely be canceled. While this delay is a setback for contractors like Boeing and SpaceX who were competing for government contracts, expect the Biden agenda to continue to foster competition between traditional contractors and new rivals.
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