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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Trump vs Musk: What happens to Nasa's ISS missions if SpaceX grounds Dragon capsule? Is Russia only other option?
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk explains the operations ahead of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boca Chica, Texas. (AP) As US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk exchanged barbs on social media on Thursday, Musk said he might stop using the Dragon spacecraft, which is used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). This came after Trump said he may cancel government contracts given to Musk's companies, SpaceX and Starlink. Musk responded on X, saying SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.' It is not clear how serious Musk was. But the Dragon spacecraft is important for keeping the ISS working. Nasa also depends on SpaceX for other programs, such as launching science missions and, later this decade, taking astronauts to the moon. SpaceX and Nasa's partnership In 2006, a company named Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, got a Nasa contract to carry cargo and supplies to the ISS. At the time, SpaceX had not launched anything into orbit. Its first successful launch happened two years later with Falcon 1. In 2010, SpaceX launched the first Falcon 9 rocket. By 2012, it began sending cargo to the space station. Nasa gave money to help develop the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX then used the Nasa connection to attract other clients to launch satellites using its rockets. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo During the Obama administration, SpaceX also got a contract to take astronauts to the ISS. This happened for the first time in May 2020, during President Trump's first term. "Today the groundbreaking partnership between Nasa and SpaceX has given our nation the gift of an unmatched power a state-of-the-art spaceship to put our astronauts into orbit at a fraction of the cost of the space shuttle," Trump said in a speech at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020, after that flight. He also praised Musk in the same event. As SpaceX made progress, other companies faced difficulties. Today, SpaceX is the main company handling both US civilian and military space activities. The US government now depends a lot on SpaceX. Musk started the company in 2002 with the goal of one day sending people to Mars. For now, the company is the only option the U.S. has to send people and equipment to space. Impact of decommissioning Dragon SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules are used to take astronauts and cargo to the ISS for Nasa. If Musk follows through on his statement about decommissioning, it could affect the future of the space station. Later in the day, Musk seemed to take back the threat. But if he had followed through, SpaceX would likely bring back the Crew Dragon that is already docked at the space station, along with the four astronauts who plan to return in it. However, there would be no way to send the next group of astronauts to the ISS. Dragon capsule Right now, SpaceX is the only US company that can take crews to and from the ISS, using the Dragon capsule, which can carry four people. Another US company, Boeing, has a capsule called Starliner. But it has flown astronauts only once. That test flight had problems, and the two Nasa astronauts had to return to Earth using SpaceX in March. That was more than nine months after they launched last June. Starliner is still not ready to fly again. Nasa is deciding whether to do another test flight with cargo instead of a crew. SpaceX also uses Dragon capsules for its own private missions. The next such mission, managed by Axiom Space, is expected to launch next week. Cargo versions of Dragon are also used to carry food and other supplies to the ISS. Russia's Soyuz: The only other option The only other way to send crews to the ISS is using Russia's Soyuz capsules. Each Soyuz can carry three people. Usually, each Soyuz trip includes two Russians and one Nasa astronaut. Each SpaceX trip includes one Russian under a mutual agreement. This setup ensures that in an emergency, both US and Russian crew members have a way to return. When SpaceX started sending crews for Nasa in 2020, it reduced Nasa's dependence on Russia. Earlier, Nasa had to pay Russia tens of millions of dollars per seat. For cargo, Nasa also works with Russian spacecraft and a US company called Northrop Grumman.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
NASA and the defence department rely on SpaceX in so many ways
In 2006, a small, little-known company named Space Exploration Technologies Corp. -- SpaceX , for short -- won a NASA contract to ferry cargo and supplies to the International Space Station. At that moment, SpaceX had not yet launched anything to orbit and would not succeed until two years later with its tiny Falcon 1 rocket. But since then, the Elon Musk-founded company has become the linchpin of all American civilian and military spaceflight. It started in 2010 with the launch of the first Falcon 9 rocket. By 2012 the launcher was sending cargo to the space station. NASA money helped finance the development of the Falcon 9, and SpaceX capitalized on the NASA seal of approval to entice companies to launch their satellites with SpaceX. It became the Southwest Airlines of the rocket industry, selling launches and hauling satellites into orbit at a lower price than most other rockets then available. Live Events That story repeated during the Obama administration when SpaceX won a contract to take astronauts to the space station, which it did for the first time in May 2020 during the first administration of President Donald Trump. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories "Today the ground breaking partnership between NASA and SpaceX has given our nation the gift of an unmatched power a state-of-the-art spaceship to put our astronauts into orbit at a fraction of the cost of the space shuttle," Trump said in a speech at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on May 30, 2020, after that flight, shortly after giving an ovation to Musk. As SpaceX succeeded its competitors stumbled, and today Musk's company is the dominant player in the space industry. The federal government now relies heavily on SpaceX -- and Musk, who founded the company in 2002 on a quixotic quest to send people to Mars one day. In the short term, the government has few other options for getting people and payloads to orbit and beyond. SpaceX is NASA's only reliable ride to the ISS right now. SpaceX Crew Dragon capsules carry astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. If SpaceX were to decommission them, as Elon Musk initially threatened Thursday, the future of the beleaguered and aging space station would be in further doubt. Musk appeared to walk back that threat later in the day. But if he followed through with it, it seems almost certain that SpaceX would at least bring back to the Earth the Crew Dragon currently docked at the space station, as well as the four astronauts relying on it for the trip home. But it would have no way to send up the next set of astronauts. NASA has few ready alternatives to get to the ISS. NASA hired other companies to provide those services so that if something went wrong, it would have an alternative. However, Boeing, the other company NASA hired to take astronauts to orbit, has yet to complete fixes for its Starliner capsule after a test mission left two NASA astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, in orbit for nine months before they finally returned to Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon. Boeing and NASA have not yet announced when the next Starliner will launch, but that is not expected before next year. The aerospace company Northrop Grumman also has a contract to take cargo to the space station with its Cygnus spacecraft, but the most recent Cygnus had to be scrapped after it was damaged during shipment to Florida for launch. NASA has hired a third company, Sierra Space of Louisville, Colorado, for cargo deliveries. But the company's Dream Chaser space plane has yet to make its first flight. NASA would have to adjust its space station plans. In the short term, the crew of the space station could be reduced to three -- the number of astronauts that can fit into a Russian Soyuz capsule. NASA could conceivably resume buying Soyuz seats from Russia, as it did between the retirement of the space shuttles and the beginning of Crew Dragon flights. NASA has also hired SpaceX to build the spacecraft that is to push the space station back into the atmosphere so that it can safely burn up over the Pacific Ocean after it is retired in 2030. Boots on the moon would likely have to wait. Without SpaceX, the current plan to land NASA astronauts on the moon in a few years also falls apart. SpaceX has a contract to build a version of the new giant Starship rocket that is to take two NASA astronauts to the surface of the moon during the third mission in the Artemis program . Blue Origin, the rocket company started by Jeff Bezos, also has a NASA contract for a lunar astronaut lander, but that is planned for years later, during the Artemis V mission. "NASA will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space," Bethany Stevens, NASA's press secretary, wrote on X late Thursday afternoon. "We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met." Security satellites and space explorers would be stranded. Canceling all of SpaceX's contracts, as Trump threatened, could leave many federal government payloads stranded on the ground. SpaceX has won contracts to launch NASA science missions like Dragonfly, a nuclear-powered drone that is to fly around Saturn's moon Titan. It also routinely launches classified U.S. military and intelligence satellites orbiting Earth. The Department of Defense has also hired SpaceX to build a more secure version of its Starlink internet satellites for military communications. There are emerging competitors to SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets for these government payloads. The Vulcan rocket from United Launch Alliance launched for the first time last year, and the New Glenn rocket from Blue Origin launched for the first time earlier this year. But they lack the long success record of the SpaceX launchers, and they are more expensive.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX sends 27 Starlink satellites into orbit from California
June 4 (UPI) -- SpaceX on Wednesday afternoon launched another batch of 27 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the 15th anniversary of the first Falcon 9 rocket launch. It was the 500th orbital launch of a Falcon rocket, including Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, Spaceflight Now reported. The Falcon 9 lifted off from pad 4E at 4:40 p.m. PDT. A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 26th flight for the first stage booster, which included 18 Starlink missions. It was thge 134th landing on this vessel and the 457th booster landing in California and Florida. The first launch of a Falcon 9 rocket was on June 4, 2010, from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex pad 40. This was a test Dragon spacecraft successfully placed into orbit. In 2020, Falcon 9 was the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit. Falcon has sent commercial resupply missions, including astronauts, to the International Space Station. The next SpaceX Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for 11:19 p.m. EDT Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station pad 40. The rocket will launch a geostationary satellite for SiriusXM. Private mission to ISS SpaceX, NASA and Axiom Space are planning a launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4, for 8:22 p.m. Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center's pade 39A. The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m., June 11. There are nine people currently on the ISS. Axiom Space and SpaceX are planning coverage to start at 6:15 a.m. and NASA at 7:25 a.m. Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission. She is 65 years old. The crew also includes pilot Shubhanshu Shukla with the Indian Space Research Organization, and mission specialists with the European Space Agency, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. This would be the first time ISRA will send an astronaut to the space station as well as ESA astronauts from Hungary and Poland. NASA and the Indian agency are planning five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering and mathematics demonstrations. Axiom Space, which is based in Houston and founded in 2016, is building the first commercial space station with deployment planned in the late 2020s.
UPI
4 days ago
- Science
- UPI
SpaceX sends 27 Starlink satellites into orbit from California
1 of 2 | SpaceX on Wednesday afternoon launched another batch of 27 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Itg was the 500th launh of a Falcon rocket. Photo by Spacex/X June 4 (UPI) -- SpaceX on Wednesday afternoon launched another batch of 27 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the 15th anniversary of the first Falcon 9 rocket launch. It was the 500th orbital launch of a Falcon rocket, including Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, Spaceflight Now reported. The Falcon 9 lifted off from pad 4E at 4:40 p.m. PDT. Falcon 9 delivers 27 @Starlink satellites to orbit from California SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 5, 2025 A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage landed on the "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 26th flight for the first stage booster, which included 18 Starlink missions. It was thge 134th landing on this vessel and the 457th booster landing in California and Florida. The first launch of a Falcon 9 rocket was on June 4, 2010, from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex pad 40. This was a test Dragon spacecraft successfully placed into orbit. In 2020, Falcon 9 was the first commercial rocket to launch humans to orbit. Falcon has sent commercial resupply missions, including astronauts, to the International Space Station. The next SpaceX Falcon 9 launch is scheduled for 11:19 p.m. EDT Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station pad 40. The rocket will launch a geostationary satellite for SiriusXM. Private mission to ISS SpaceX, NASA and Axiom Space are planning a launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4, for 8:22 p.m. Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center's pade 39A. The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch a new SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The targeted docking time is approximately 12:30 p.m., June 11. There are nine people currently on the ISS. Axiom Space and SpaceX are planning coverage to start at 6:15 a.m. and NASA at 7:25 a.m. Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission. She is 65 years old. The crew also includes pilot Shubhanshu Shukla with the Indian Space Research Organization, and mission specialists with the European Space Agency, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. This would be the first time ISRA will send an astronaut to the space station as well as ESA astronauts from Hungary and Poland. NASA and the Indian agency are planning five joint science investigations and two in-orbit science, technology, engineering and mathematics demonstrations. Axiom Space, which is based in Houston and founded in 2016, is building the first commercial space station with deployment planned in the late 2020s.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Musk And Bezos Competed With Rockets, Now They're At It With Cars
The new Slate truck in minimalistic. The two richest men on the planet, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos—in that order—have been competing in the space-bound rocket industry for several years. SpaceX's CEO might have reached orbit first in 2008 with his manned Falcon 1 rocket, while Bezos's Blue Origin New Shepard vessel carried a crew to sub-orbital space in mid-2021. Each has since launched several follow-up rockets with Blue Origin opting for high profile passengers like William Shatner in 2021 and Katy Perry in early 2025. Now, as if to add an explanation mark to that Katy Perry flight in mid-April, and throw down the proverbial gauntlet to Musk's Tesla, a new Jeff Bezos-backed American startup automaker called Slate Auto has just debuted the potentially game-changing Slate Truck at the unheard price of $20,000 with federal EV incentives. This truck is not only affordable, and about two-thirds the size of a Chevrolet Silverado EV, but it's easily customizable and extremely analog boasting manual windows and no infotainment screen. Slate's strategy that buyers are looking for an affordable, practical EV without frills is bold and daring, given that virtually no cars have manual windows these days and many drivers use the smartphones as navigation devices. In contrast, the cheapest Tesla with power windows and a huge infotainment screen costs $41,000 with the tax incentive. The name Slate Auto appears innocent enough at first. In fact it seems like a strong, cool brand name until you think about the letters in Slate. Aha! An anagram! That's right folks, rearrange the spelling of 'Slate' and you get 'Tesla.' Now, of course no one from either company is offering a confirmation or denial of whether the name 'Tesla' was borrowed and respelled to form 'Slate,' but in a world of cut-throat competition, we would not be surprised. And with all the issues facing Tesla since Musk started collaborating with Donald Trump, including multiple vehicle recalls, boycotts, falling sales and vandalism, Bezos appears to be launching just at the right time. The Slate startup unveiled its compact electric truck during an event Thursday night in Long Beach, California, and said the first trucks would g ion sale for under $20,000 with the federal EV tax credit by the end of 2026. Interested buyers can go online and place a $50 refundable reservation on the company's website. In what was seen as a jab at Musk and his push away from more affordable EVs towards self-driving technology, Slate's chief commercial officer Jeremy Snyder commented that the industry 'has been so focused on autonomy and technology in the vehicle, it's driven prices to a place that most Americans simply can't afford. But we're here to change that.' The entry-level spec of Slate's truck will offer 150 miles out of a 52.7kWh battery pack, which employs a single 201-hp motor powering the rear wheels. For those who suffer from range anxiety, Slate has also prepared a larger 84.3kWh battery pack that it says will deliver 240 miles of range. And what will make it desirable for many is the fact that it will be able to charge using a North American Charging Standard (NACS) port, the standard quick-charging Tesla setup that most major automakers now use. Indeed, the industry will be laser-focused on whether Tesla and Musk can bounce back from their myriad of issues as Slate and Bezos surge forward with a rather attractive-looking EV package at first glance and more EVs in the pipeline.
