Our scientists will work to increase an understanding of our planet and our place in the universe. Unlike the way the space program started, NASA will not be racing a competitor. Rather, we will build upon the community of industrial, international, and academic partnerships forged for the space station. Commercial companies will play an increasing role in the space industry: launching rockets and satellites, transporting cargo and crew, building infrastructure in low-Earth orbit.
NASA will continue to be a global leader in scientific discovery, fostering opportunities to turn new knowledge into things that improve life here on Earth.
It will consist of at least a power and propulsion element as well as habitation, logistics, and airlock capabilities. The power and propulsion element will be the first component to launch for placement near the Moon in , with additional elements launching in subsequent years.
In the half-century since people visited the Moon, NASA has continued to push the boundaries of knowledge to deliver on the promise of American ingenuity and leadership in space. These experiences and partnerships will enable NASA to go back to the Moon in — this time to stay.
With its partners, NASA will use the Gateway lunar command module orbiting the Moon as a staging point for missions that allow astronauts to explore more parts of the lunar surface than ever before. Ongoing research and testing of new aeronautics technologies are critical in these areas and will help the U. Developing quiet supersonic transport over land, and quieter, cleaner aircraft technologies are two ways NASA is transforming aviation.
The X will be the first all-electric X-plane and will be flown to demonstrate the benefits that electric propulsion may yield for the future of aviation. The goal of the X is to achieve a percent increase in high-speed cruise efficiency, zero in-flight carbon emissions, and flight that is much quieter for the community on the ground.
Earth science research will continue, with new technologies that will help us understand Earth as a system and its responses to natural or human-induced changes. Landsat 9 will extend our ability to measure changes on the global land surface at a scale where we can separate human and natural causes of change. When land use and resource availability issues arise, Landsat 9 will help decision makers make informed management decisions.
Landsat 9 will thus contribute a critical component to the international strategy for monitoring the health and state of the Earth. SWOT will monitor how water bodies change over time and support societal needs such as dams and shipping.
When NASA was created 60 years ago, it had to invent the technology to get where we needed to go, and we will continue to push the boundaries of technology into the future. Exploring deep space and three-year missions to Mars pose new challenges: Can you take enough? Can you grow it or make it in space? Can you do your own repairs and maintenance? As before, NASA will adapt solutions to these and other challenges into technologies that will improve life at home.
NASA is developing more advanced printers that can add metals and other materials like regolith into the mix. Being able to make parts in space will come in handy during emergencies. NASA also conducts aerospace research and funds various space technology development efforts. Studies show the agency provides the U. SpaceX is a for-profit company, whereas NASA is a taxpayer-funded entity free to pursue scientific discoveries that are not directly linked to financial gain. In , President George W.
Bush announced a plan to retire the Space Shuttles and return humans to the surface of the Moon. Orion and SLS are built by aerospace companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which in turn use their own private suppliers and subcontractors. The programs generate tens of thousands of well-paying jobs in locations where they are built, and therefore enjoy strong political support from their local Congressional representatives.
SLS and Orion are both behind schedule and over budget. Meanwhile, SpaceX has grown from a small startup into a legitimate competitor of traditional aerospace companies. Though SpaceX also frequently misses timelines, its supporters argue SLS and Orion are too expensive and based on legacy technologies that are outmatched by vehicles like Starship. An analogy for this is aircraft carriers, which the U. Furthermore, the agency cannot change course without the requisite political support.
Without the investment of NASA, private spaceflight today would look very different. In , NASA began investing in private space companies with the hope that they could one day provide cargo and crew transportation to the International Space Station. SpaceX was one of the first companies to receive money from NASA; the company was just 4 years old at the time. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy and would likely have run out of money without NASA.
Today, SpaceX generates revenue from a variety of customers, but a significant portion of its funding comes from flying crew and cargo to the ISS as well as launching NASA science spacecraft.
SpaceX also flies payloads for the U. Department of Defense, another taxpayer-funded entity. The plan worked: not even a year after the Shuttle program ended, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft made the first commercial berthing with the ISS.
Without SpaceX, the only U. Entrenched aerospace contractors that traditionally enjoyed little or no competition are putting greater emphasis on new technologies that lower the cost of spaceflight. NASA also benefits by having multiple domestic and international partners able to launch spacecraft and fly crews and cargo to the International Space Station. The company makes excellent use of livestreaming technology, making each rocket launch and landing an exciting event.
0コメント