Netease science and technology news on May 24, according to foreign media reports, Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, an American space exploration technology company, is about to meet the biggest test of its space entrepreneurship in nearly 20 years, that is, putting human beings into orbit. The company's manned dragon spacecraft will lift off on May 27 local time, sending two NASA astronauts to the international space station.

There are many milestones in human space history, such as Yuri Gagarin entering Earth orbit in 1961 and Neil Armstrong landing on the moon in 1969. While SpaceX's upcoming manned launch may not be comparable to these achievements, it will mark the first time a private spacecraft has put humans into orbit. It is also the first time astronauts have taken off from the United States since the space shuttle was retired in 2011.

Luigi Peluso, aerospace analyst at Alix partners, said: "we've never had a commercial spacecraft in space, it's definitely the first time, it's an epic moment. It's still very dangerous to enter space, especially when launching people, the difficulty is soaring exponentially. This includes not only delivering them safely to space destinations, but bringing them back. "

Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. NASA has always been a key partner and customer, and SpaceX's cargo spacecraft has regularly delivered supplies to its space station astronauts. In 2014, NASA awarded SpaceX and Boeing a total of $6.8 billion in contracts to restore the ability to launch astronauts in the United States.

SpaceX is ahead of Boeing in breaking through the finish line, which will promote its transformation from a space upstart to a giant. "It's absolutely a shame for Boeing and a huge blow to its engineering capabilities and reputation," said George Ferguson, an analyst at Bloomberg industry research

The launch of SpaceX will usher in a new era of commercial space flight. "This is a real breakthrough in space," said Lori Garver, former NASA deputy director. It's been a decade in the making, and you've given the key to low earth orbit to the private sector, giving NASA the freedom to do other things. In the end, paid tourists will be able to travel in space. " (small)

Source: Netease Technology Report