Paula Lugones
05/30/2020 - 16:24
- Clarín.com
- Society
The start of the private tourism career , a " big step ", a " milestone for NASA and the United States": three US experts consulted by Clarín agreed on the relevance of this Saturday's launch of the first manned mission entrusted by NASA to a private company, billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX.
John L. Crassidis, director of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the State University of New York, told this newspaper that “this is the first human launch on US soil since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011. We have been relying on Russian Soyuz launchers to take us into space. Now we can do it ourselves, which is obviously important in terms of programming, logistics, cost and other factors. The United States has depended on the private sector since the dawn of the manned space program. But, with SpaceX, it is obviously a sample that we trust more now than in the past. If this is successful then it will be a good model. Why? Because it will reduce costs, by having competitive offers from other companies. ”
Regarding whether this launch paves the way for the private sector to handle space tourism, the expert said, "These private companies will still have to follow standard US government procedures. to launch a vehicle into space. Therefore, they will not manage space tourism per se . But I think space tourism will be popular in the future. In fact, I look forward to going into space myself someday! ”
Sara Seager, professor of Aerospace Engineering and Planetary Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told Clarín that “the United States has not had the ability to send a manned mission into space for almost a decade, making it a great milestone for NASA and the country. By working together, NASA and the private sector can make great things happen . But the future lies in the private sector, which has a unique capacity for both innovation and risk , while also reducing costs. ”
President Donald Trump had traveled to Florida on Wednesday to witness the launch that was eventually suspended. (AFP)
The expert added that "with the ability to bring a human crew into space, the private sectors can engage in space tourism, if they can get enough participants to support this type of tourism."
Robert Winglee, director of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington, told Clarín that "the Apollo era managed to get humans to the Moon, but it was expensive and the technology was not ready for a presence permanent human beyond low Earth orbit. Now the technology has vastly improved and humanity is ready to truly try to go beyond Earth in a permanent way , and this launch represents that next big step. ”
He noted that “the private sector and federal agencies will have to collaborate to establish a permanent human presence in space. Whether it's space tourism or space exploration, both add to a need for collaboration to involve more than a few astronauts: the more people participate, the better . ”
Specialists agreed that President Donald Trump may see his desire to bring an American astronaut to the Moon by 2024 fulfilled, as proposed.
"There is no doubt that this is an aggressive agenda. And everything seemed to be in place for it to happen before the pandemic closed everything. Now I don't know if it will happen in 2024, but I do think we can do it in a few years, "said Crassidis.
"The space program is very close to making that big leap to the Moon and beyond , whether in 2024 or 2025, it is not the problem," added Winglee. Seager concluded: "With sufficient funds, I think it is possible."
Washington. Correspondent.
DD
