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| Ungainly but serviceable |
NASA has announced a multi-billion dollar contract to build the Space Taxi, a 21st-Century generation vehicle to get astronauts back and forth from the international space station. The craft will be built mainly by Boeing with the assistance of Space X, a closely-held private aerospace firm. The Space Taxi program will mean that the U.S. no longer has to rely on the Russians to shuttle crews back and forth in space. It is an arrangement born in the chummy aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, But it is an arrangement that has soured. Vladimir Putin is seen to be a kind stealth conqueror of his neighbors and the Americans are close to humiliation that they have to seek his permission for their space efforts. For those who think about money, that’s what this is all about. Even as the Americans retired their obsolete Space Shuttles they were hurting to find money to build new ones. It was among the most painful examples of how the mighty U.S. has been unable to do the great things expected of it. Reuters
