NASA, SpaceX launches astronauts from the US for the first time in a decade

The launch of the CrewX SpaceX spacecraft has moved forward despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has closed private and government operations throughout the US. NASA said it was necessary to continue the mission to guard the International Space Station, a giant orbiting laboratory, fully managed by US astronauts.

NASA, SpaceX, and military personnel gathered in the control room to support the launch, and they implemented additional safety measures, such as changing the control room when new shifts started so that other rooms could be cleaned deeply.

Before the launch, the space agency’s top official, Jim Bridenstine, said he hoped it would inspire admiration and lift the general public during the ongoing health crisis.

On the ground in Florida, local authorities are preparing for an influx of spectators who are expected to gather at a nearby beach, which was recently reopened after weeks of being locked in the middle of a battle against Covid-19.

Several dozen journalists were permitted to cover the launch from the press area at the Kennedy Space Center, but strict social distance policies and guidelines surrounding the use of masks were implemented. Bridenstine held most of the telephone briefings, for example, and direct interviews were carried out one by one with the news crew.

The launch also functions as a litmus test of NASA’s push to partner more broadly with the private sector.

SpaceX developed the Dragon Crew under the NASA Commercial Crew Program, which, for the first time in the history of the space agency, submitted much of the design, development and testing of new human-ranked spacecraft to the private sector. NASA gave SpaceX and Boeing a fixed price contract to complete the work, and after Boeing suffered a major setback during last year’s test flight,

The decision was not without controversy, especially in the early days of the Commercial Crew Program. But Wednesday’s success can be seen as a big win for people at NASA who hope to rely more on similar contracts to help achieve space agency goals.

Bridenstine, for example, hopes to rely heavily on private sector partnerships to achieve the space agency’s ambitious goals to land US astronauts on the moon in 2024.

“In the end, what we are trying to achieve is having many providers compete with each other in terms of cost, innovation, and safety. And then NASA can become a customer, a customer of many customers, and we already know that this will save a lot of money in the long run long, “Bridenstine told CNN Business’ Rachel Crane earlier this week.