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Apollo 15 Commander David Scott drives the lunar roving vehicle on the surface of the moon, the first time the rover was used.Image Credits:NASA(opens in a new window)
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Hello , and welcome back to TechCrunch Space . In typeface you miss it , Boeing and NASA decided to keep Starliner docked to the International Space Station for the rest of the month . The agency is aiming to complete a central follow-up in the first hebdomad of August , at which stage they ’ll make a determination on when to bring the spacecraft ( and the two astronaut , Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams ) home .
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Story of the week
Falcon 9 is back . Just about two calendar week after the rocket experienced an unusual person that derail a routine Starlink launching , regulator have given SpaceX the all - cleared toresume launches of the most reliable rocket in history .
What we’re reading
Over at Ars Technica , Eric Berger has an important story about one of the most pressing subject in the space diligence : NASA ’s Modern fixed price contracting modelsare neat for SpaceX and really , really challenging for everyone else .
This is a freehanded issue , because NASA says it wants to stimulate more competitor , but simply no one else can compete on price the elbow room SpaceX can . Here ’s Berger :
In short , only one company — SpaceX — is thriving in NASA ’s commercial-grade space ecosystem .
That is not a outstanding position for the space agency to find itself in , so there are plenty of questions for NASA and policymakers . Do they cave to traditional quad contractors and go back to price - plus contract for most service ? ( Slow and expensive . ) Do they turn over many of their spaceflight functions to SpaceX ? ( Not desirable or politically pragmatic . ) Do they continue to go for and wait for other company to make the next step ? ( The other return are not gravid . )
The push toward commercial space seems admirable . But NASA call for a scheme , likely take few requirements and more fiscal support , to help us get there .
This week in space history
Beep beep ! ( Just josh , there are n’t horns on lunar bird of passage . ) On July 30 , 1971 , cosmonaut drove a rover on the moon for the first time . I do n’t get it on about you , but I am very , veryexcited to see the designs forthe next generation of lunar roversfrom Intuitive Machines , Lunar Outpost , and Venturi Astrolab .
