Space X Success: N.A.S.A. Revitalized

      Well, isn't that something.  A US launched rocket takes 2 astronauts to the I.S.S.  One of the two is a veteran of an earlier US flight-from 10 years ago.   The difference: today he is riding a privately funded rocket made by Elon Musk's company: SpaceX.  It was launched from the base in Florida that was the home of N.A.S.A.'s Apollo Program that sent the first men to the moon in 1969.  This was not the first attempt by SpaceX, but after fine tuning the systems required for the launch and several failures, this flight delighted the engineers and support staff that are necessary for the entire program.
       What's different?  How about the launch vehicle separating from the manned capsule and returning to the base?  Sounds amazing and it is.  In the old days, this section of the rocker would separate after the vehicle reached a certain altitude and the fuel was spent.  This empty canister was allowed to fall back to earth- in to the Atlantic Ocean.   Now that was a very expensive part of the operation and was entered into the accounting as an un-recovered cost.  Now, SpaceX reuses that section for a future launch.   Hence, the billions saved will help expand this new partnership between the public and private entities that have joined to make the program financially much more feasible.
This will please not only Congress, but also those nay -sayers who question the entire space exploration concept.
        The two astronauts will spend about 5 days at the station, testing systems operations and checking on the health of those current occupants who have been there for some months.  It is surely a psychological boost for them knowing that there is another player in the program, ensuring their own future return and or replacement.   Planners and thinkers of future efforts can now move forward and set their sights farther away.  Mars has again become a possible target; however, the moon is the most likely candidate for another station and port of entry for astronauts on the move.

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