
SpaceX’s first astronaut mission could take off in May - ajaviaad
https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/10/spacexs-first-astronaut-mission-could-take-off-in-may/
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dang
This is an announcement of the possibility of an announcement, which is one
level of indirection beyond an announcement of an announcement, which is
already off topic. On HN there's no harm in waiting for a thing to actually be
announced, or rather to actually happen, at which point there will be
something new to discuss.

[https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...](https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22announcement%20of%20an%20announcement%22&sort=byDate&type=comment)

[https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...](https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22no%20harm%20in%20waiting%22&sort=byDate&type=comment)

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rtkwe
That's exciting. It'll be nice for NASA I'm sure to finally gain independence
from the Soyuz launch schedule and the 1 Russian member that always comes with
that, letting them rotate crews more easily. Maybe with more craft we could
see an inflatable expansion to the station for more crew berths.

~~~
TaylorAlexander
Perhaps, but it won’t be Bigelow Aerospace: [https://spacenews.com/bigelow-
aerospace-sets-sights-on-free-...](https://spacenews.com/bigelow-aerospace-
sets-sights-on-free-flying-station-after-passing-on-iss-commercial-module/)

Looks like this company may do it though:
[https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/01/28/axiom-wins-nasa-
approv...](https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/01/28/axiom-wins-nasa-approval-to-
attach-commercial-habitat-to-space-station/)

~~~
rtkwe
Bigelow has always seemed like it was on the edge of collapsing. It'd be
interesting to see them actually get their large station launched, I'd love
for their to be a commercial alternative if only for there to be less pressure
to commercialize the ISS. (An endeavor I think is doomed, there's not enough
actual use for it yet that isn't satisfied by the national lab model)

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jp42
Success of this will changes a lot of things. USA regaining capability to put
humans in orbit. Space proving private companies can safely take humans to
space. And overall government's & public's confidence in Spacex for building
Starship & possibly providing meaningful transportation infrastructure for
Mars colonization.

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tectonic
It's very likely to slip further before it actually happens. My money's on
June or July.

