Thursday, May 29, 2014

SpaceX To Unveil Manned Spacecraft Tonight

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX is planning to unveil its next-generation spacecraft--the Dragon V2--tonight, which it says will be able to carry astronauts to space. SpaceX said that it will webcast the unveiling of the new space vehicle tonight, at 7:00 p.m. PT, direct from its manufacturing facility in Hawthorne. The timing of SpaceX's introduction of its new space vehicle comes at an opportune time for the company, as tensions with Russia have threatened to cut off U.S. manned access to space. Just last week, Russia threatened to stop ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station on its rockets, in protest of the American sanctions against the country for its activities in the Ukraine. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has been lobbying Congress to bring back American manned launch capability to space, which has been absent since the retirement of the Space Shuttle.