Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2018

ASTRONAUTICS 23 I t is not rare for the beginnings of a space mission to undergo one or more postponements. Let’s consider, for example, the James Webb Space Tele- scope’s launch, initially scheduled in 2018, then delayed to 2019, and now ex- pected in 2020. This problem has become even more evident as some dozens of private aerospace companies have en- MAY-JUNE 2018 A urora Station is depicted here in a very advanced stage of development, with several modules added to the one that should enter into orbit in 2021. [Orion Span] tered the scene: the number of resched- uled or canceled missions has grown in step with the difficulty of the goals set by the companies. The sector most af- fected by the loss of projects is undoubt- edly that of space tourism. It often hap- pens that this-or-that company does clamorous announcements promising to carry tourists to low Earth orbit within a