SpaceX Launch to International Space Station Postponed

Elon Musk’s SpaceX was set to launch its Crew-3 Mission to the International Space Station (ISS) today, though the launch has been postponed due to bad weather.

The mission, carrying three astronauts from NASA and one from the European Space Agency, was scheduled to launch on October 31, but has been thrice delayed—twice due to weather and once for a medical issue involving a crew member.

SpaceX has seen many successes in the last year, from being the first private company to send astronauts to the ISS to launching the first all-civilian space mission. Other private companies—including Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin—have set their own records, launching the first suborbital spacecraft with paying customers.

These successes mark a growing role of the private sector in the space industry. Private companies can fulfill space-related governmental goals that advance scientific discovery, security, and national pride. However, they are also able to pursue decentralized goals. Axiom Space, for example, plans on building the first-ever commercial space station. Privatization also allows for risky, long-term development. In the coming years, SpaceX and its competitors will work to develop a permanent base on the moon that would position astronauts to reach Mars by 2026. Even longer-term, SpaceX hopes to build a colony on Mars by 2050.

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