While sitting in my bed researching and trying to write a blog on NASA’s aim to launch science experiments to the International Space Station, I actually started wondering if it would ever be possible for humans to easily travel back and forth between the earth and space.
In 2004, SpaceX, an American private space corporation, began building Dragon. Dragon is a reusable spacecraft that is designed to transport cargo and humans back and forth between the earth and space stations. Just four years ago, in December 2010, Dragon was launched into orbit and upon its return this spacecraft had become known as the first operating spacecraft that has returned back to the Earth.
In 2012 history was made when Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to transport cargo to the International Space Station and safely deliver cargo back to the Earth. Having created a spacecraft that has the ability to safely transport materials and resources to and from the International Space Station opens a significant amount of opportunities for our nation and scientific research. For example, NASA is planning to launch four science experiments up to the International Space Station with the Dragon spacecraft.
Also what I find entreating about the Dragon is that it was designed to send people into space from the very beginning, which implies that it is an actually possibility. Dragon actually has two different configurations, Dragon Cargo and Dragon Lab, which allows the spacecraft to be flown for unmanned and manned flights. The Dragon was built to hold up to 7 astronauts. The pressure section of Dragon is the part of the spacecraft that is capable of transporting humans and cargo.
In 2010 Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, stated in an interview with SPACE.com that one Dragon would most likely be produced every three months and that he was trying to decrease production rate from three months into six weeks. By September of 2013, ScapeX had only six Dragons in various stages of production. Even though production rate want very close to Musk’s expectations, six developing spacecrafts is something a company should be proud of.
SpaceX has planned that within the next 2-3 years, Dragon’s first manned test in expected to take place. Currently, SpaceX is building the refinements that will allow Dragon to carry a crew. If Dragon’s ability to safely transport human beings is successful and Musk’s production line expectations of Dragon become true, then humans ability to travel to space and back could actually be a possibility within the near future.
Resources:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140918122845.htm
http://www.spacex.com/dragon
http://www.spaceflight101.com/dragon-spacecraft-information.html
http://www.space.com/10443-spacex-ceo-elon-musk-master-private-space-dragons.html
For starters, I really love the use of the Xenon picture at the end! We all wanted to live a life like her’s growing up! I think it’s such an unbelievably good thing that people, even if it isn’t our government, are trying to get back into space again. That frontier is one that for many seemed closed off but now with this, and Virgin Galactic working to send people into space, it shows that that frontier will never be closed off. I’m fascinated to see where this takes us! Maybe we will all be living like Xenon in the next few lifetimes!