Holding my breath for Elon Musk
EDITOR'S NOTE
I go through phases with Elon Musk.
I'm still kind of horrified by Tesla's autonomous driving technology and the devil-may-care way that new features (like last year's "Smart Summon") are often rolled out. I suppose I'm my grandfather's granddaughter in that sense; he taught defensive driving courses for decades. It's also hard to grow up surrounded by major interstates with too many tragic accidents and not want to err on the side of ultra-caution when it comes to driving. It's a big part of why Tesla was such a controversial stock last year.
But the cars themselves are undeniably impressive. Then there's the Hyperloop (three cheers! Let's roll it out everywhere). The Powerwall, which would be even more enticing if it weren't so expensive. And SpaceX.
I'm not a big space nerd, but I was floored when SpaceX landed that rocket on a floating drone barge back in 2016. And today, at roughly 4:30 p.m. ET, SpaceX has the chance to make even bigger history.
SpaceX is about to become the first private U.S. company to launch astronauts into space. Our Michael Sheetz has a good run-through of everything here, and a great backgrounder on the politics that ended the NASA shuttle program (from his forthcoming book) can be found here. Backup launch times if weather doesn't cooperate today are this Saturday and Sunday. Sadly, Covid-19 means no crowds at Kennedy Space Center, but NASA will have a live feed that opens up around noon.
There are so many interesting dimensions here. Foremost, the U.S. has been relying on Russia for roughly the past decade anytime it needs to get astronauts to the International Space Station--at roughly $80 million a seat. SpaceX seats should cost around $55 million apiece. As NBC's Denise Chow put it, this will be the first time since 2011 that "astronauts lift off from American soil on American-made rockets and spacecraft."
These are still NASA astronauts; in that sense, the mission isn't totally privatized. But NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, and now it's up to commercial players like SpaceX to take over. Boeing is also in the running with its CST-100 Starliner, but its December test didn't reach proper orbit.
I have to confess, I am almost mystified as to why Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the two NASA astronauts who will be on board today, would sign up for this. But then, that's what makes them astronauts. Here's a great profile from the NYT: they're best friends, former military pilots, and each is also married to an astronaut. And each has a son, which makes me choke up even as I write this. Am I worried about this launch? I guess so. I'm clearly not made of strong enough stuff to do what they're doing.
I remember talking to Bill Griffeth about this back during our Closing Bell days; he'd eagerly sign up for space travel. Me? Not so much. So I'll be watching and praying and rooting for Musk, for SpaceX, for Bob and Doug and their families today. I believe the astronauts' return, if all goes as planned, would be on Thursday.
We'll be covering this throughout the next couple of hours as the launch approaches. A very big moment for the country.
See you at 1 p.m!
Kelly
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