WASHINGTON -- With the successful return to Earth of the SpaceX spacecraft Crew Dragon, the United States once again has its own means of manned space flights. The mission's success also enables America to end its dependence on Russia, with which it has expressed security concerns, for flights to the International Space Station, as well as opening the possibility of a private space company.
The space shuttle program, which was solely operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration until nine years ago, was forced into retirement due to the cost of safety measures after two fatal accidents.
Under the current plan, the United States aims to nurture space companies by providing financial and human resources support, which will mitigate the high costs of manned space flights. The cost for one seat on the Crew Dragon is 55 million dollars (5.8 billion yen), less than 70% of what the U.S. has paid to put an astronaut on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
SpaceX hopes to use the latest success as a springboard for transporting for civilians to the International Space Station, and for trips to the moon.
Japanese astronauts will be on board Crew Dragon flights in the future. Although no major problems were experienced in this maiden manned test, we hope there will be thorough examinations of all phases of the flight before full-scale operations to ensure the safety of future space missions.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
