WASHINGTON - Four astronauts were poised to launch on the SpaceX Crew Dragon"Resilience" to the International Space Station on Sunday , the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring.
"The history being made this time is we're launching what we call an operational flight to the International Space Station," Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine told reporters on Friday.The crew will dock at their destination at around 11pm on Monday night , joining two Russians and one American onboard the station, and stay for six months.
At the end of its missions, the Crew Dragon deploys parachutes then splashes down in water, just as in the Apollo era. But SpaceX's success won't mean the US will stop hitching rides with Russia altogether, said Mr Bridenstine. Russia has said it won't be a partner in the Artemis program to return to the Moon in 2024, claiming the Nasa-led mission is too US-centric.
More on this topic But the fact that a national space agency feels moved to compare itself with a company is arguably a validation of Nasa's public-private strategy.The cost of round-trips on Russian rockets had been rising and stood at around $85 million per astronaut, according to estimates last year.
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