The United Nations Is Launching a Space Mission Merrit Kennedy - NPR.org
go to original October 6, 2016

UN Plans First Ever Space Mission (NewsBeat Social)

The U.N. is planning to launch its first space mission into orbit, packed with scientific experiments from countries that can't afford their own space programs.

It's teaming up with the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which makes the Dream Chaser, a reuseable spacecraft that, when it returns from orbit, can land at an ordinary airport. They formally announced the plans last week at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The idea is to "reach out to communities and to countries and to young people around the world who may never have had the opportunity to do something in space," as Mark Sirangelo, the head of SNC's space division, tells The Two-Way. "Instead of countries having to purchase a single mission, they could be a part of a collaboration with many countries on board."

The plan is to launch the Dream Chaser in 2021 for a 14-day flight in low Earth orbit. Sirangelo says the spacecraft is "about the size of a regional jet," and the company envisions outfitting it with 20 to 25 laboratory stations for countries to do experiments in microgravity. And while it's aimed at developing countries, any U.N. member state can apply to participate.

Before liftoff, the U.N's Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is also planning to provide technical support to countries that haven't had experience conducting microgravity experiments.

The UNOOSA was founded in 1958 to promote "the peaceful uses of outer space," but it has never launched a mission itself – until now.

Read the rest at NPR.org

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