"There are many private individuals who are interested in putting things in space." Orbital Sciences Antares Launch in April is one of the rockets that could transport NASA cargo to the ISS Image: Getty ImagesĬonditions in space can help scientists get a better understanding of how materials work, aging and the effect of gravity on people. "I believe the big market is the research and education market where researchers and students can participate and understand physics better and do experiments in space," Melroy said. And this could open up opportunities for other actors interested in space research. Investment by companies has helped transform the industry and increased access to the Internet, she said.īy turning NASA into a customer, the US government is stimulating development of the private space industry. Melroy, who also worked for the US Federal Aviation Authority, believes that fostering the private sector is the way forward for the space industry, pointing to the commercialization of the telecommunications sector as an example. "Because of the world economy, which has affected the United States and most other countries in the world, the government has to make decisions about big investments," former NASA astronaut Pamela Melroy told DW. Also, an initiative has been established in which crew (astronaut) transportation will be outsourced. Private companies can now bid on a contract to transport NASA's cargo to the International Space Station. To compensate for significant cuts to its space program, the US government has been working on providing support to private ventures. Mars Rover Curiosity mission the most expensive mission to date - costing around $2.5 billion Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems China has plans to significantly expand Tiangong-1 from 2020. NASA currently has to share the ISS for which funding runs out in 2020 with the Russian, Japanese, Canadian and European space agencies. But one of its biggest successes came in September 2011 when it launched Tiangong-1, a space station with a manned laboratory and the possibility to test docking capabilities. Last month, it completed its longest manned space mission, with the return of the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft to Earth. Earlier this month, an unmanned Russian rocket carrying three navigation satellites crashed at a launch facility in Kazakhstan shortly after taking off.Ĭhina, on the other hand, has made inroads into the space industry in the last decade. But ROSCOSMOS has also had its own share of problems. Since the end of its Space Shuttle program in July 2011, NASA has had to rely on ROSCOSMOS to send its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). But during the last decade, NASA has suffered a series of setbacks despite its successful landing of rover Curiosity on Mars in 2012. For years, NASA was only rivalled by Russia's space agency ROSCOSMOS.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |