SpaceX To Present Manned Dragon Capsule 128
camperdave (969942) writes "SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is set to unveil the Dragon V2 at a media event from Hawthorne, California, tonight at 7 pm. Pacific. The 'Dragon V2' is an upgraded, man rated version of the unmanned spaceship that has made several successful cargo trips to the International Space Station. The new craft will carry a mix of cargo and up to a seven crewmembers to the ISS. According to Musk, this is 'Actual flight design hardware of crew Dragon, not a mockup.' Following the space shuttle's forced retirement in 2011, US astronauts have been totally dependent on the Russian Soyuz capsules for ferry rides to orbit and back. The crisis in Ukraine, which has resulted in some U.S. economic sanctions imposed against Russia, also has the potential to threaten U.S. access to the ISS as the Russian government considers reciprocal sanctions of its own.
'Sounds like this might be a good time to unveil the new Dragon Mk 2 spaceship that @SpaceX has been working on with @NASA,' Musk tweeted. SpaceX is one of three commercial space companies competing for funding from NASA's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program."
(You can watch the event as a webcast.)
Private Enterprise Saves the Day! (Score:2, Insightful)
NASA holding onto an out-moded Space Shuttle design, crimped the US's space efforts for decades.
Welcome to the Space X Dragon and someone finally with GUTS; Elon Musk.
Re:Cue "Space nutter" monomaniac in 3... 2... (Score:5, Insightful)
The harsh fact is that, aside from satellite launches, there is pretty much no reason for any other entity to go into space.
Yeah, I guess that would explain why there has been at least one person in orbit every year since the last moon shot, and why the ISS has been continuously occupied for nearly 14 years.
As far as commercial flight goes, unlike the shuttle, anyone with the money can buy a launch from SpaceX. They're not restricted to government launches.
Re:About time. (Score:4, Insightful)
Right, this is the decade where we start worrying about the economies of space travel instead of just the plausibility.
Re:Private Enterprise Saves the Day! (Score:5, Insightful)
NASA holding onto? Are you insane? The space shuttle was MANDATED by congress, just like the heavy lift rocket they are developing for no reason. Not only does congress tell NASA what to build, they insist certain companies and states manufacturing capacity be used. NASA often isn't even allowed to price shop because it would price ATK and other defense contractors out of competition. NASA is treated by congress as one great big pork barrel where rather than giving NASA options to reduce cost they force NASA to buy and build things they don't even want. Not unlike the military where congress frequently forces the military to buy defense products they don't want because some congresscritter's district holds the factory.
Remember Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex? Well NASA is a key component of that abuse because just like the DOD NASA spends enough money to draw the attention of those with influence who can make lots of money on those items.
Re:About time. (Score:4, Insightful)
And only forty years after the US Government did it. Way to go, private sector!
And probably ten years before the government does it again, at a hundred times the cost if they're using SLS.
Next time NASA astronauts land on the Moon, there'll probably be a crowd of tourists from a SpaceX package tour waiting there to film them.
Re:About time. (Score:3, Insightful)
So no, not 40 years you ignorant statist twat. You give the state so much power that they prevent free markets from working, and then later claim that the "free market" you set up to fail didnt work.
Give people liberty, and free markets work just fine.