Author Topic: How SpaceX and NASA overcame a bitter culture clash to bring back US astronaut launches  (Read 329 times)

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By Jackie Wattles, CNN Business 8/9/2020

How SpaceX and NASA overcame a bitter culture clash to bring back US astronaut launches

In May, millions of Americans watched as Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, two veteran NASA astronauts, strapped into a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and took a 17,000 mile per hour ride to the International Space Station. It was the first time NASA astronauts launched from US soil since 2011 — and the first time in history that a privately owned vehicle carried humans into Earth's orbit.

The astronauts returned safely home last weekend, and once again, NASA and SpaceX employees cheered together, celebrating their coordinated accomplishment.

That moment of solidarity, however, came after years of infighting, politicking and mutual distrust, according to current and former employees from NASA and SpaceX.

Elon Musk, who made millions as a co-founder of PayPal, founded SpaceX in 2002 with the stated goal of sending humans to live on Mars: "I think we're beginning to see is the dawn of a new era of space exploration — one that is driven by commercial companies as much, if not more, than by government," Musk told CNN in a 2004 interview.

When the startup began working with NASA later that decade, it had only a few dozen engineers and was known primarily for Musk's bold claims and for blowing up its first rocket prototypes.

The space agency, wise from past tragedies that cost astronauts' lives, saw SpaceX as brash and reckless.

More: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/09/business/spacex-nasa-astronaut-launch-demo-2-culture-clash-scn/index.html