Space Travel, Privatized

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.