Since STS-135 in 2011 and the retirement of the Space Shuttle, the only way for human beings to reach orbit has been a Soyuz launch from Baikonur. On May 27th, SpaceX is scheduled to launch the first crew from the US in nine years.
There are good reasons to be skeptical about human spaceflight (especially by useless space tourists, or ballastronauts), but there is something useful and unifying about the International Space Station as a science platform and humanity’s only effort at a permanent human settlement off the Earth.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
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nasa set May 27th as the date for the first launch of “American astronauts on American rockets from American soil” since the end of the space- shuttle programme. The vessel has been built by Space X, one of Elon Musk’s companies. Since 2011 Americans travelling to the International Space Station have had to hitch a ride on Russian rockets.
https://www.economist.com/the-world-this-week/2020/04/25/politics-this-week