NEW YORK: Come 2018, it’s almost certain U.S. astronauts will still be riding Russian rockets to the International Space Station.
A vote by a key Senate panel Wednesday all but killed any chance Congress will fully finance NASA’s space shuttle replacement program by 2017 and end the agency’s reliance on Soyuz rockets for access to the space station.
That vote by the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that finances the space program approved $900 million for the shuttle replacement program, known as Commercial Crew, in fiscal 2016. That’s nearly $350 million less than the $1.24 billion NASA requested to meet a launch target of late 2017.
Last week, the House approved a fiscal 2016 for NASA budget that would provide $1 billion for the Commercial Crew program. It’s highly unlikely the two chambers will settle on a final number that comes close to matching NASA’s request, further delaying a program that’s already more than a year behind its original 2016 launch date.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
