The Hill by Mark Whittington 8/9/2020
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has had an incredible week. It started with the triumphant return of Dragon astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from the International Space Station. The conclusion of their space mission was a curious combination of the modern and the retro. The Crew Dragon is a state-of-the-art spacecraft, yet it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico dangling from parachutes just as they did during the Apollo program.
In the meantime, SpaceX scored another success at its growing spaceport in Boca Chica, Texas, when it sent a prototype of its Starship interplanetary craft on a 150-meter hop. The stainless-steel vehicle lifted off and, more importantly, landed without cracking up. Eventually Musk intends to use the Starship, to be launched by the Super Heavy first stage, to take people and cargo to the moon, Mars and beyond.
SpaceX closed out the week with another successful launch of satellites for its Starlink constellation.
Imagine living in Texas a few decades from now and suddenly being possessed with the desire to visit the moon. Traditionally, the only way such a dream could become reality would be for you to go through the arduous process of becoming a NASA astronaut and then hoping that Congress would fund a back-to-the-moon program.
More:
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/511210-spacex-is-building-the-road-to-the-moon-and-mars-in-texas
