Cut-price space travel
The mission to rescue stranded astronauts reveals rocket rivalry
20 March 2025 - 05:00
There is a scene from a really bad space movie in which a bunch of astronauts are rocketed off to destroy an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Just before blast-off, one of the crew turns to a fellow guinea pig and says something like “How does it feel to be riding on top of 800,000 pounds of rocket fuel in a device built of components supplied by the lowest bidder?”
It’s something to ponder as four astronauts head back to Earth this week from the International Space Station (ISS). Two — Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — have been there for nine months...
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