【】

It's been a momentous Saturday for SpaceX, and for the future of crewed voyages into space.
At 2:49 a.m. ET, the American aerospace company founded by Elon Musk staged its first launch of Crew Dragon. It's big news because this is the first time a commercial interest has launched a spacecraft that was built to carry humans.
Tweet may have been deletedSEE ALSO:SpaceX launches moon lander, lands booster despite tough conditions
American spaceflight has traditionally been the domain of NASA, but the past decade has seen a gradual shift toward having commercial interests share the responsibility. SpaceX and Boeing are leading that charge, so the successful Crew Dragon launch represents a major milestone moment.
It's still just a first step, however. Although the Dragon capsule itself is designed to carry a crew of up to seven astronauts skyward, the one that launched on Saturday -- Demo-1 is its designation -- is more of a test run: it's carrying a few hundred pounds of cargo, plus a sensor-filled dummy named "Ripley."

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine hailed the launch as a "new era in spaceflight."
Tweet may have been deleted
He added: "We are looking forward to being one customer of many customers in a robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit, so we can drive down costs and increase access in ways that, historically, have not been possible."
The cost savings Bridenstine mentioned are very real. After NASA retired its shuttle fleet in 2011, the U.S. has relied on Russia to bring astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Hitching a ride on a Russian Soyuz rocket costs roughly $80 million per seat, compared to the $51 million cost to fly on a SpaceX or Boeing vehicle.
Bridenstine's comments don't make it very clear, but NASA is closely involved with the U.S. development of commercial spaceflight. The agency's influence shapes various aspects of third-party planning, including design, safety, and funding, under its Commercial Crew Program.
Now that Demo-1 is in space, the next phase of its mission begins. Early on Sunday morning, the capsule will dock with the ISS to drop off its cargo. After that, Demo-1 will detach and begin its return trip to Earth.
Assuming everything goes well for Demo-1, the first Crew Dragon launch to carry actual humans into space could come as soon as summer 2019.
Featured Video For You
This space harpoon could be a solution to our growing space junk problem
TopicsSpaceX
相关文章
- The group behind a growing list of celebrity social media breaches has struck again, this time takin2025-04-24
Donald Trump's bizarre walk down a ramp is a big thing now: #RampGate
Donald Trump spoke at West Point's commencement on Saturday. After the speech, he left the stage by2025-04-24'The Crown' casts Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret for Season 5
Netflix's The Crownis gradually rolling out the casting for its fifth and final season — and n2025-04-24Disney commits to changing Splash Mountain's 'Song of the South' theme
The recent movement of protests against police brutality and white supremacy in the United States ha2025-04-24Man stumbles upon his phone background in real life
Life imitates tech. Or, perhaps it's the other way around.Reddit user xbshooterwas traveling near Sa2025-04-24Charles Esten talks 'The Office' and what it was like playing Josh Porter
Before Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch closed down it was run by a seemingly well put together, alb2025-04-24
最新评论