[20211001]IF11940_商业载人航天.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov October 1, 2021Commercial Human SpaceflightRecent commercial flights to space by wealthy businesspeople and other private individuals have attracted interest both in Congress and among the general public. This In Focus summarizes current capabilities and plans for commercial human spaceflight, explains how it is regulated and licensed, defines some commonly used terminology, and discusses selected policy issues that may be of interest to Congress. Capabilities and Plans The first nongovernmental flight to carry a human into space took place in 2004. An experimental rocketplane called SpaceShipOne, launched from beneath a carrier aircraft, briefly reached an altitude just above 100 kilometers (62 miles), which is one common definition of the boundary of space. SpaceShipOne, developed by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, made two additional suborbital flights later in 2004 but was then retired. In 2020, SpaceX became the first company to launch humans into Earth orbit, using its Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Crew