NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made history on Saturday, May 30, after they launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida towards the International Space Station (ISS). The history was two-fold, becoming the first launch from American soil since 2011, as well as being the first time astronauts were sent into space on a private space ship.
Since 2011, international space agencies, including NASA, have been relying on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, created by the national space agency Roscosmos, to taxi astronauts to and from the ISS for cost reasons.
However, private companies such as SpaceX have now made it affordable for the likes of NASA to launch from home turf once again.
But Roscosmos, the Russian space agency which usually has a good relationship with NASA, has slammed the US space agency and Elon Musk’s space agency for the perceived lack of respect.
Following the successful launch, Elon Musk said: “The trampoline is working. It’s an inside joke.”
Mr Musk’s jibe was in reference to a quote from Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin, who in 2014 said the US might as well “deliver its astronauts to the ISS by using a trampoline” — a reference to how the US had to rely on Russian spacecraft to launch astronauts into space since 2011.
Mr Rogozin has now reignited the war of words with Mr Musk and NASA, claiming they do not show the Russian space agency enough respect.
In an article for Russia’s edition of Forbes, Mr Rogozin said: “When our partners finally managed to conduct a successful test on their spacecraft, there were nothing but jokes and mockery directed at us.
“Our country was the first to send a man into space. We remain first to this day.”
Russia had been charging NASA around $90 million (£69 million) per seat on a journey to the ISS, whereas SpaceX is hoping to whittle down costs to $55 million (£43 million).
But Mr Rogozin has criticised this too, accusing SpaceX of “price dumping” – an economic term which sees a rival undercut a company’s cost significantly in order to run them out of business.
The outspoken space chief said: “Just as the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian have no price, because they are unique and are the property of mankind, so is Russia giving the Americans the opportunity to preserve the ability to deliver astronauts to the space station.”
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SpaceX has gone from strength to strength in its launch capabilities in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center and nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, going from 11 rocket launches in 2019 to a proposed 38 in 2020.
However, the Elon Musk-backed firm has no plans to halt its progress and is aiming to launch 70 rockets from its Florida sites by 2023.
Missions will include launching the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, including upping the ante in getting 12,000 Starlink satellites into Earth’s orbit.
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