NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, left, and Robert Behnken, wearing SpaceX...

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, left, and Robert Behnken, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Demo-2 mission launch. Credit: AP/Bill Ingalls

As our pandemic-stricken nation reopens in fits and starts, it leaps into the unknown even as it tries to return to something familiar, the life we once knew.

Much the same can be said of the modernist space capsule that sits atop a powerful rocket on a Kennedy Space Center launchpad. It, too, is about to blast off into an unknown future, even as it reminds us of something our country once took for granted. The boost is most welcome. 

The launch scheduled for Wednesday afternoon will make history, if the weather cooperates and all goes well. Delivering NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station will be America’s first manned space shot in nearly a decade. Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, which built the Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket, will be the first private company to put humans into orbit.

This privatization of space exploration marks a new era of space travel, full of promise and concerns. SpaceX devised its Dragon capsule with touch screens instead of dials and knobs, and invented rockets and boosters that can be brought back to earth to be refurbished and reused. That could allow NASA to end its $80 million-per-ride reliance on capsules launched by Russia since our own space shuttle was retired nine years ago. And it could usher in an era of more public-private partnerships in space exploration.

But there are risks when the quest for knowledge clashes with a company’s profit motive. SpaceX had two Falcon 9 rockets explode, destroyed its Dragon capsule in one test, and had problems with the parachute that slows the capsule as it returns to Earth. SpaceX says it identified and fixed those problems.

That’s part of what makes this launch so badly needed now. Our space program once was a triumph of ingenuity, science, imagination and bravery, qualities that helped make America great and Americans feel good about themselves. It was pride in our ability to excel. The launch in Florida could rekindle that feeling.

The coronavirus will be present at the launch. Social distancing requirements are expected to reduce the size of the watching crowd, NASA will do temperature checks of astronauts and ground crew, and Mission Control will feature Plexiglas between work stations and frequent disinfections.

But this mission could rise above that, and bring us along for a ride that can lift us just when we need it most.

— The editorial board

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