While I normally focus on issues a *bit* closer to home, I
wanted to pass along a bit of newsworthy and, frankly, historic
news from NASA. Yesterday, the agency announced that it
entered into two contracts (with Boeing and SpaceX, respectively)
for the transportation of U.S. astronauts from Earth to the
International Space Station. Currently, the U.S. is relying
on Russian craft to make the trip. Cumulatively, the
contracts could be worth nearly $7 billion.
The announcement marks a unique partnership between the federal
government and private industry that NASA hopes will impact the
future of space exploration in two interesting ways. First,
the move could lead to a bump in American space tourism –
allowing increased access for those hoping for a totally new
perspective on the world. Second, by allowing others to
handle its low-Earth transportation needs, NASA will free itself up
to concentrate on other, big-picture objectives, such as a manned mission to Mars.
