The Cygnus NG-15 spacecraft S.S. Katherine Johnson, named in honor of a prestigious Black NASA employee, successfully launched on February 20 at 9:36 p.m. PST. The liftoff of the Northrop Grumman rocket was in NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, where it was filmed on live television. Last Monday, S.S. Katherine Johnson successfully berthed into place onto the Unity module of the International Space Station, where it will remain until May. The cargo ship was tasked to supply ISS Expedition 64 and 65 with approximately 8,000 pounds of research, hardware, and supplies.
In addition to the cargo on board, the rocket also carries various types of scientific equipment for researchers on the ISS. From studying astronaut sleep with the European Space Agency (ESA) to artificial retinas with LambdaVision, the hundreds of experiments all provide essential information for science and technology, not only in space but on Earth as well. The thousands of scientific experiments in the ISS come to prove whether the investment on space exploration is justified by the extremely beneficial discoveries that are gained.
Northrop Grumman is a private aerospace and defense corporation that frequently partners with independent governmental agencies, including NASA. In this instance, Northrop Grumman is under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to develop Cygnus. This partnership is one of the many partnerships NASA maintains to successfully accomplish their missions. Around a decade ago, NASA was responsible for their own spacecraft. This partnership showcases the trend of NASA partnering with private enterprises as well as demonstrating the success of the government working with private companies.
Should NASA rely on private contractors to supply the International Space Station, or should NASA be responsible for their own spacecraft?
1 comment:
I think that NASA should definitely work with other private corporations to bring their missions to fruition. By working with other corporations with big-contracts, NASA is benefitting the economy, striking a healthy balance between scientific exploration and economic well-being. By doing this, it is supporting the STEM industry by employing hundreds of thousands of people in the private sector to create ground-breaking technologies, a feat that would not otherwise be nearly as feasible to do without support from NASA. Therefore, it becomes a win-win situation for NASA and private corporations. For example, take a look at the collaboration between Space-X and NASA, while Space-X is committed to creating their own technologies, they rely on NASA members to work with them and rely solely on NASA facilities for testing. Creating their own testing facilities from ground-O would be extremely uneconomical, so this partnership is clearly a mutual benefit to both parties.
Previously when NASA created their own projects, critics stated that they were using government money for space exploration-- cool, but nevertheless irrelevant to the daily functioning of society. While these critics continue to make this point, I think now more than ever before NASA has managed to continue their exploration while benefitting the private sector through such collaborations.
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