Guwahati, Apr 2: SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, now has the most modern spacecraft and reusable rockets, and the company played a major role in bringing back NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore to Earth from the space station when the world almost lost hope of their safe return.
The return of the astronauts could have been earlier, but the Biden administration was not on good terms with Elon Musk, as he was closer to Donald Trump. But as soon as Trump became president of the US, the American government requested SpaceX to bring back the astronauts, which he did.
Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore safely returned to Earth on March 18, spending 286 days in space, which was 278 days longer than they anticipated.
The Assam Tribune contacted Vavani Sarma, an Assamese engineer working with SpaceX, and he said that as soon as the request from the US government to bring back the astronauts was received, SpaceX went into action mode, and it took about six weeks to make the preparations to ensure the safe return of the astronauts. He said that SpaceX is now the global leader in spacecraft, and it could ensure the safe return of the astronauts, who were stuck in space.
Replying to a question on the health hazards Williams and Willmore are facing now after spending months in space, Sarma said, "I am personally not in touch with them. Technically speaking, the human body is not made to withstand such a long stay in space with zero gravity. A long stay in space affects different parts of the body, and the bones are the worst affected."
He said the astronauts "will have to go for intensive therapy, including physiotherapy, from 45 to 60 days before they can get into normal life."
NASA made all-out efforts to bring the astronauts back, and when all hopes were almost lost, they turned to SpaceX, which did the job, much to the relief of the entire world.
Giving details of the spacecraft that SpaceX has at its disposal, Sarma revealed that no other organisation now has the range of spacecraft that SpaceX has. He revealed that SpaceX offers a range of space launch services, including reusable rockets and spacecraft, satellite internet through Starlink, and human spaceflight, with the ultimate goal of making humanity a multi-planetary species.
Sarma said that the spacecraft and vehicles that SpaceX now has include Falcon 9: A reusable medium-lift launch vehicle, Falcon Heavy: A reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle, Dragon: A spacecraft used for cargo and crew transport, including missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Starship, a fully reusable, heavy-lift launch system designed for interplanetary and orbital spaceflight, including potential lunar and Mars missions, Super Heavy: The first stage of the Starship system, capable of lifting 100,000 kg to low Earth orbit, etc.
On the services provided by SpaceX, Sarma said that it provides launch services for commercial clients, governments, and private enterprises, including satellites and spacecraft.
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft carries cargo to the International Space Station. SpaceX operates crewed missions to the ISS, such as the SpaceX Crew-10 mission.
SpaceX is exploring opportunities for space tourism, including suborbital and orbital flights. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers were launched to the ISS in a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Also on board are Takuya Onishi, an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
In 2019, NASA's inspector general pegged Crew Dragon's cost per seat at 55M US dollars and Starliner's cost per seat at 90 million US dollars. Crew Dragon's cost per seat has risen with its two contract extensions. The cost per seat for SpaceX's Crew-7 through Crew-9 contract extension increased to 65 million US dollars.
By
R Dutta Choudhury