Space Travel, Privatized

<p>After nearly a decade on the sidelines of space travel, Cape Canaveral is again launching a shuttle into space. But this time, a private company will be sending NASA astronauts into orbit. What does this moment mean for human exploration of the solar system? Guests: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kenneth-chang?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">Kenneth Chang</a>, a science reporter at The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/26/science/spacex-nasa.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-nasa-spacex&variant=show&region=TOP_BANNER&context=storylines_menu?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">Here’s a look inside</a> the vessel that is scheduled to become the first crewed spacecraft launched in the United States since the end of the shuttle program in 2011.</li><li>Meet<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/science/spacex-launch-nasa.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-nasa-spacex&variant=show&region=TOP_BANNER&context=storylines_menu?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> SpaceX’s first NASA astronauts</a>: Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley, who have been<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/science/bob-behnken-doug-hurley.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> friends and colleagues for two decades</a>.</li></ul>