Nowadays, the delivery of astronauts on the ISS with ships and missiles produced in Russia has become a tradition, but it was NASA that the NASA is going to connect the “cosmic taxi” from the states in the near future. “Private Models” are already working on new models: Spacex and Boeing. The first corporation is working on creating a ship called Dragon, the second designs CST-100 Starliner, a space manned truck. Of course, preliminarily they will need permission from NASA. The agency is going to tighten the requirements for the safety of space transport. It is curious that even now they can not correspond.
The first flights to the ISS using this technique are planned next year. True, for the implementation of plans, the transport of private traders will have to meet the tightened safety requirements. Experts report that NASA is going to seriously inspect the space technique to reduce risks during its launches. Moreover, the statistical probability of emergency cases should be reduced by companies by once by 270 flights. This is four times less relative to the current norm. Compare: on traditional air travel on Earth, one accident falls on a million successful flights. According to analysts, the agency tightening the requirements regarding security was a logical step. In 1986, and then in 2003, two shuttles exploded. After that, the NASA promised to the astronauts to reduce their risks.
There are other problems that are faced with firms erecting the next generation of space carriers. The device can be covered with cosmic garbage or meteorite pieces. But such a taxi moves at a speed of 27,358 kilometers per hour. In such a situation, the slightest garbage element can seriously threaten the ship and its crew. To protect against this danger, SpaceX and Boeing will have to provide their vessels with an additional casing that increases their mass. Among additional risks, it is worth noting: the technology of parachute opening, vibration during the launch of the rocket, shortcomings of the screen that protects against temperature changes.
The agency has already received detailed descriptions of their developments from both firms. They will be evaluated in January of the coming year. NASA managed to invest about four billion dollars into projects of these companies. It is assumed that their spaceships only in the twenties of the current century fly about sixteen times.
Source: WSJ.com