Meanwhile, Dragon is scheduled to rendezvous with the ISS tomorrow. So much for abandoning our future in space to the Russians.
We’ve also got a craft near Vesta, and soon to be heading off to get a close look at Ceres — a minor planet (or dwarf or asteroid if you please) which may have more water than Earth has, and which can get as warm as forty below! That’s as warm as winter in Russia :)
Its a far cry from the capability we had. The only way we can put people into space is through the russians.
I have very high hopes for Space x. I hope there is enough vision with them to keep the technology alive