Today
or yesterday (depending on your location) marked the 50th
anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. In the lead-up,
celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
greatest feat of exploration in human history took place all over the
country. On Friday, surviving Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and
Michael Collins, along with Neil Armstrong's sons, were the guests of
honor at the White House celebration of the historic achievement.
While
the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 is undoubtedly a great
source of pride for Americans (and should be for the whole world),
remembering past greatness has also prompted many to look toward
America's future in space, which is, unfortunately, not so clear.
In
stark contrast to the singular focus NASA exhibited in the 1960s, the
NASA of the 21st century could be described as lost not in
space, but on the ground.
With
mounting calls for the retirement of the Space Shuttle following the
2003 Columbia disaster, then President George W. Bush
announced the Constellation Program in 2005, which sought to return
Americans to the Moon by 2020 via heavy lift rockets similar to the
Saturn V. There were to be
two versions of the new Aries rocket: one designed for manned
launches and another designed for heavy cargo payloads.
By
2009, a study concluded that Constellation was grossly over budget.
As a result, in early 2010, then President Obama announced that
Constellation was going to be canceled and replaced with a single
rocket: the Space Launch System (SLS), which could be built in
multiple configurations while utilizing technology originally
developed for Constellation.
Fast
forward 9 years and it's more of the same.
The first SLS launch, set to be an unmanned capsule around the Moon, was set for December, 2017. The first manned flight was targeted for mid 2021. Obviously, December, 2017 is over a year in the rear view mirror, which does not bode well for 2021. Official target dates for the unmanned launch is now 2020 and the manned launch is now back to 2022.
However, manned American spaceflight has a new champion in President Trump, who has made it very clear in the form of executive orders that he intends to see to it that Americans will once again be able to not only fly themselves into space, but to the Moon. Earlier this year, NASA announced that its Project Artemis (the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology) seeks to land astronauts on the Moon again by 2024 with the long-term goal being the creation of a permanently manned lunar base that will serve as a stepping stone to Mars.
Additionally, there is a new player in space that wasn't even imaginable in the 1960s: the private sector.
While
there are now numerous private companies involved in spaceflight, the
far and away leader of the proverbial pack is SpaceX.
Looking
at SpaceX and what it has achieved since its 2002 founding is like
looking at a shopping list. SpaceX was the first private company to:
launch a rocket into orbit (2008), orbit and then recover a
spacecraft (2010), send a spacecraft to the International Space
Station (2012), complete a propulsive landing of a rocket (2015),
reuse a rocket (2017), and launch a payload into solar orbit (2018).
The
most intriguing possibility, however, is that offered by SpaceX's
Falcon Heavy rocket. First launched in February, 2018, according to
NASA, the Falcon Heavy is capable of launching astronauts to the
Moon, although the SLS is the preferred option. With the SLS falling
ever farther behind schedule, there is a very real possibility that
the Falcon Heavy could be NASA's ticket to the Moon by 2024 if the
SLS is not ready to go in time.
Yes,
these are not the 1960s when manned spaceflight was a matter of
national priority and pride, but the possibilities offered by the
private sector are undoubtedly exciting, too. NASA astronauts riding
a privately-owned rocket to the Moon? The idea would have seemed
crazy in 1969 but, come 2019, this could be the future of America in
space.
The
future of manned spaceflight may look different, but the
possibilities are truly limitless.
Like What You Just Read?
Why not check out other great stuff
about photography,
astronomy,
associated
gear, and how
to use it.
Think someone else would find this informative (or at least entertaining)? Use the buttons below to share!
Think someone else would find this informative (or at least entertaining)? Use the buttons below to share!
Posts
