Leroy Chiao
at 09:25 AM Nov 12 2014

NASA has been launching astronauts into low Earth orbit for over fifty years, so the technology is mature and we clearly know how to do it. Letting private companies do the job is the next logical step. The question is, can the risks be adequately controlled? And can private human spaceflight be jumpstarted and maintained at a profit? I think that the answer to both of these questions is “yes” -- using tested hardware and an honest communication of risk.

Rafi Letzter
at 10:18 AM Oct 29 2014

Christopher Nolan's Interstellar imagines a human journey to planets beyond our star. But that kind of trip would seem impossible in today's terms. Fortunately, a DARPA-funded task force is already working to make it happen in the next century.

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