Intro

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: Kenneth Chang, a science reporter at The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily

Background reading:

• Here’s a look inside 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.
• Meet SpaceX’s first NASA astronauts: Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley, who have been friends and colleagues for two decades.

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