CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — It sounds dramatic: The future of U.S. space exploration rides on Wednesday’s launch. For the first time, U.S. astronauts will launch form U.S. soil and fly like we do: Commercial.
When they dock at the International Space Station, it will be beginning of a new era in space exploration for the NASA.
Nine years ago, the future was not so clear. The last U.S. shuttle, Atlantis, took off from Cape Canaveral and NASA flew into uncertainty.
Bob Cabana, astronaut and director of the Kennedy Space Center, described the feeling.
"When Atlantis landed, it was honestly depressing because the shuttle program had ended," Cabana said. "We didn't have a clear idea of where the program was headed."
Since then, U.S. astronauts have ridden on Russian shuttles to get to space. That is until May 27, 2020.
"This is the first time in nine years we have launched humans into space on from the Kennedy Space Center on a U.S. rocket," Cabana said.
This isn't your grandfather's, or even father's, NASA.
"We are buying a ride for our astronauts to the International Space Station," Cabana said.
The two astronauts will ride on a Dragon shuttle attached to a Falcon rocket built and owned by billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX.
"We're gonna be testing out the vehicle for ascent, rendezvous and docking and for reentry," Cabana said of the mission.
If all goes according to plan, this will be the future of US space exploration: Private American companies working with NASA to develop space crafts and sponsor space flights.
"(This plan has us) getting ready to launch crews back to the Moon and on then onto Mars," Cabana laid out the future of NASA. "Right now, we are excited to put the first woman on the moon in 2024."