Isolation Day 59: Launching America

The First American Astronauts from American Soil in Nine Years

For the first time since the Space Shuttle, America is launching two astronauts from American soil. This is BIG. Not only does this mean more NASA astronauts in orbit, but it also provides a critical alternative for getting people into space.

Currently, the Russian Soyuz rocket is the only vehicle capable of transporting crew to the International Space Station (ISS). This dependency has allowed Russia to dramatically increase the cost per seat, and the Soyuz is also limited to carrying only three astronauts at a time.

The SpaceX Factor

Today’s launch could change everything. The SpaceX Crew Dragon is capable of taking up to seven crew members to the ISS and has the potential to significantly reduce costs. Currently, a seat on a Soyuz rocket costs around $75 million. In comparison, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is reported to cost roughly $55 million per seat.

With the addition of Boeing’s Starliner Capsule (once it completes testing)—which is estimated at $90 million—this will likely trigger a price war. Ultimately, this competition will benefit governments and, eventually, the private citizens lucky enough to afford a trip to orbit.

My "Live Blog" Experiment

I’m trying something new today! I’m attempting to live-blog Demo-2. As I mentioned a few days ago, I’m planning to watch the full 24 hours of live coverage that NASA is streaming on its YouTube channel.

While I would love to stream alongside the event, my current internet connection is a bit "rubbish" and can barely cope with streaming from YouTube as it is, so live-blogging with text is the safer bet to avoid constant buffering. I’ve installed a new plugin for WordPress called Arena.IM to handle the updates—hopefully, you’ll see the results in action below!

Did you watch Demo-2? What are your thoughts on the mission and the future of commercial spaceflight? Let me know in the comments below!