The International Space Station is getting a makeover starting this week. On Friday, astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Terry Virts will conduct the first of a series of spacewalks to reconfigure the outside of the station to create two new docking ports, Discovery News reports. The new ports will provide parking spots for spacecraft that will be visiting in the near future—namely, the commercial space taxis being developed by SpaceX and Boeing.
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.
With the recent retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, NASA has been in desperate need of some space taxis -- vehicles designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. For the past three years, the space agency has had to rely on Russia’s Soyuz rocket to fulfill this need, which hasn't been cheap or ideal.
Of course, it wasn’t long before reality sank in. I’m not really part of this proverbial “we.” The rides are for NASA astronauts only, not for us mere mortals, fated to only walk on one planet for the rest of our lives. My excitement soon became mixed with a reinvigorated longing to explore the celestial frontier.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner - well two, actually.
From the outside, Boeing's CST-100 spacecraft model resembles a high-tech gumdrop. On the inside, it's a spacious, LED-glowing dream. The new commercial vehicle is designed to transport NASA astronauts to and from low Earth orbit. Boeing recently unveiled the interior for the first time.