Posted by Ray Katz in NASA, current, private
SpaceX hires astronaut
Ken Bowersox to SpaceX
SpaceX, a company I unabashedly love, has hired former astronaut Ken Bowersox…and put him in charge of astronaut safety.
Wait. Astronaut safety? What astronauts are flying on SpaceX?
Approved for unmmanned flight…thinking of manned flight
Well. although SpaceX has won a contract for unmanned re-supply missions to the International Space Station, they seem pretty confident that they’ll win the (as yet non-existent) contract to fly astronauts to it.
As noted some time ago, their spacecraft and boosters have been designed to be “man-rated”—that is, qualified to send people into space. (Okay, the craft, Dragon, will need some modifications to carry people…but it can be done.)
I think this will happen. After the shuttle retires, I believe NASA will use SpaceX rather than the Russian Soyuz to get our astronauts into orbit. It will probably be cheaper, and better for national pride. Admittedly, it’s a guess. Let’s check back in a few years, after the shuttle retires…
I bet Ken Bowersox agrees with me.
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