/sci/ - Science & Math

RIP CCREW IN 2019
LONG LIVE SOYUZ
>Jim Bridenstine, NASA's administrator, said in an interview on Monday that he is not confident in [SpaceX's] timeline. The space agency will likely have to purchase more seats aboard Russian-made spacecraft in 2020, he said, to ensure US astronauts have continued access to the space station because of ongoing dealys with its Commercial Crew program, he said. That program includes Crew Dragon and a Boeing-built capsule, Starliner, which is also years behind schedule.

>Bridenstine referred to Crew Dragon's explosion as a "catastrophic failure," and said one of the reasons he's skeptical of the idea that Crew Dragon will be ready in the near future is because the updated emergency abort system "has not been qualified" and has not been tested.