SpaceX to Launch Private Astronauts in 2015
By Matteo Emanuelli on January 11, 2013 in News
On January 9, SpaceX announced its readiness to launch U.S. astronauts, employed by SpaceX itself, into orbit by 2015.
“We want to know when commercial companies are ready to fly their crew at their own risk,” said Ed Mango, manager of NASA’s commercial-crew program. The idea is for NASA’s commercial partners to demonstrate the safety and operability of the new craft on their own employees before the agency risks its astronauts.
http://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/2013/01/11/spacex-launch-astronauts-2016/

Then you could potentially have the bizarre scenario where SpaceX is flying their own crews to space in 2015, while NASA continues to pay the Russians to send NASA crews to the ISS until 2017.

Bob Clark

Where did congress get the $3,055 million figure for SLS/Orion? Is it from NASA or the Contractors?

It would be nice if NASA managed the space program for once without so many outside influences. That will never happen.

Looking forward to ISDC.

It’s Time to Push for US Human Spaceflight Independence (Op-Ed).
Richard Garriott, Cosmonaut/Astronaut, and Owen Garriott, Astronaut
(retired) | May 07, 2014 12:54am ET
“After more than two decades of development, it is essential that the United
States keeps the ability to visit, work and return from the ISS within its
national capabilities. Yet, it is surprising to see how little discussion,
much less pressure, is being applied to accelerating plans to regain an
independent capability for human spaceflight. Now seems to be the time for
Congress, NASA and the general public to all push hard, and get one or more
of these U.S. systems in space as soon as possible.”
http://www.space.com/25785-american-human-spaceflight-capability-richard-garriott.html

We could have NASA flights to the ISS by 2015 with funding. Odd that SpaceX
is not pressing the issue since they plan to make their own, independent of
NASA, crewed test flights to LEO in 2015.

Both Elon Musk and Gwynne Shotwell are scheduled to appear at the 2014
International Space Development Conference (ISDC) next week:

Featured Speakers and VIPs at ISDC 2014.
http://isdc.nss.org/2014/speakers-vip.html

Wish I could go but can’t make it this year. Hope the issue gets raised.

Bob Clark

Yes, but one has to believe they’re doing it simply to show that they can be as good as us. It’s soft power, not species preservation, going on here.

“Wrt ‘adaption’, I’m sorry you chose to use examples that were somewhat trite.”

I hear ya talkin’. The word I should have expressed concerned about is “ultimately”. The time scale that human space flight advocates are motivated by these days simply isn’t a timescale on which we envsion any global threat to the species. Yes, we will move out into the cosmos. But we may not do it this century, and life will go on. It hurts, doesn’t it? We’d really like to see it happen in our lifetimes. But it isn’t necessary right now, and while deep down Congress knows it, they don’t want to admit it.

What you say about Elon is exactly right. He needs a cult, and he’s their leader. The federal government won’t cut it. I admire that, in Elon. He has a mission that our government wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Sure, we could get hit by an asteroid, but the correct mitigation strategy doesn’t need astronauts. (See above.)

Wrt ‘adaption’, I’m sorry you chose to use examples that were somewhat trite. I’m using the term broadly and with respect to humans as a supposedly intelligent species with the ability to adapt their environment to changing circumstances – it they so choose. In my context it could mean anything from environmental to a pandemic to a war.
I accept your comments value with this proviso: Elon needds others to achieve his aims, not just himself, and I firmly believe that he couldn’t do it without instilling some sense of cultism into his organisation. Ordinary workplace wouldn’t cut it.
Cheers.

Probably correct. Fair statement about ISS. It’s doing great stuff for teaching us about human spaceflight, but it’s not an extensible proposition. One is enough. ISS provides NO lessons for why we need to have humans in space, but rather develops capabilities for keeping them there. Oh, there’s that tourism thing. Pffft.

That we must have an industrial phase off-Earth to support people is probably correct, even if the goal is species insurance. We’re not going to send people up to twiddle their thumbs while they wait for the Earth to die. But that just raises the question of value. Sending humans off-Earth needs to have a “why” that provides value. The “why” for Apollo was to kick the USSR in the groin. It did that. We checked that box, and then were done with the Moon.

As to off-Earth resource potential — prove it. You don’t need astronauts to prove it, and you may not even need astronauts for developing the resources.