And while the pandemic has slowed down space operations in other countries, SpaceX continues an aggressive launch schedule. Ars Technica reported that SpaceX remains on track for 22 space missions in 2020, which will break the 2018 record of 21 launches.
The private-public partnership between NASA and companies like SpaceX is continuing to deliver strong results. Globally, SpaceX ranks second only to the Chinese, who have also had two failed launches, for the number of launches in 2020.
But the program isn’t just delivering on quantity. Following years of stagnation due to budget cuts, America is finally back in the space race.
NASA-SpaceX partnership
July 20, 2020, was the 45-year anniversary of the moonwalk, which was the climactic point of America’s space program encompassing the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions.
In 2003 there was an ongoing debate in the U.S. about how much the private sector should be included in government-funded NASA operations. Because NASA’s budget didn’t stretch to keep the aging shuttle program flight-ready, they eventually turned to the private sector to deliver more innovative and cost-effective solutions.
