Increasing The Pace

With the retirement of the space shuttle later this year, SpaceX says NASA wants it to speed up the development of its Dragon cargo capsule so that it can begin delivering supplies to ISS next year. Without that, according to SpaceX, NASA said it may have to de-man ISS for periods due to a lack of supplies. That would almost certainly be seen generally as a huge step backwards. It would also be inexplicable. NASA and the other ISS partners have known for years the shuttle program was coming to an end. They should have planned well enough for that end to allow the continued operation of ISS without a last minute push to guarantee a supply capability.