National

A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts successfully docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday for a five-month mission.

Why it matters: This is the first NASA crew equally made up of men and women — among them is Jessica Watkins, the first Black woman to take part in a long-term spaceflight, AP reports. She's also the first Black woman to be on an ISS crew, per Space.com and Smithsonian Magazine.

What they're saying: "It really is just a tribute to the legacy of the Black women astronauts that have come before me, as well as to the exciting future ahead," Watkins told NPR ahead of the SpaceX Crew-4 mission's departure from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, aboard the Crew Dragon capsule.

The big picture: The 33-year-old mission specialist is the first Black woman to join an ISS crew "for scientific research, station maintenance, training and more over a six-month period," USA Today reports.

Sian Proctor last year became the "fourth Black woman to fly to space and the first to pilot a spacecraft on a commercial mission with SpaceX," during their three days in orbit, NPR notes.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover was the "first Black astronaut to join a station crew," when he joined the SpaceX Crew-2 mission that launched in November 2020, per USA Today.

 Guion "Guy" Bluford was the first Black astronaut to travel to space, in 1983.

Go deeper, via AP: "Black in Space" looks at final frontier of civil rights

Jessica Watkins makes history as first Black woman on ISS crew

The latest crew that launched aboard a SpaceX capsule are the first to equally made up of men and women, per AP.

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins departs with Crew-4 to prepare for liftoff t from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Wednesday, April 27.

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins as Crew-4 prepares for launch to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. Photo: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

International Space Station

Space

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

Science

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

A once-in-a-decade report out Tuesday recommended NASA and other space agencies study the planet Uranus within the next decade to better understand giant icy worlds in our solar system and beyond.

Why it matters: Proposals published today by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are not binding, but they are influential and often guide federal funding toward future space missions.

NASA committed to two flagship missions recommended in the last planetary science survey 10 years ago — the Europa Clipper scheduled to launch in 2024 and the Perseverance Mars rover.

The Committee on the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey designated the Uranus Orbiter and Probe as the highest-priority new flagship mission for initiation between 2023 and 2032, calling the planet "one of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system."

"Its low internal energy, active atmospheric dynamics, and complex magnetic field all present major puzzles. A primordial giant impact may have produced the planet’s extreme axial tilt and possibly its rings and satellites, although this is uncertain," the report reads.

The mission would deliver a probe to Uranus' atmosphere in order to better understand the planet's origin, interior, atmosphere, magnetosphere, rings and satellites.

The Enceladus Orbilander, the second-highest priority mission flagged in the report, would entail exploring Saturn's sixth-largest moon, specifically for evidence of life beyond Earth in the water-rich plumes spewing into space from the planet's subsurface ocean. 

The Cassini spacecraft in 2017 discovered the plumes contained hydrogen, suggesting there are probably hydrothermal vents at the bottom of Enceladus' sea. Scientists have proposed that conditions around those underwater vents could support life.

The proposed Orbilander would analyze plume material from orbit and during a two-year landed mission to better understand the habitability of Enceladus' ocean.

What they're saying: “This report sets out an ambitious but practicable vision for advancing the frontiers of planetary science, astrobiology, and planetary defense in the next decade,” said Robin Canup, assistant vice president of the Planetary Sciences Directorate at the Southwest Research Institute and co-chair of the National Academies’ steering committee for the report. 

“This recommended portfolio of missions, high-priority research activities, and technology development will produce transformative advances in human knowledge and understanding about the origin and evolution of the solar system, and of life and the habitability of other bodies beyond Earth," Canup added in a statement.

The big picture: For the first time, the report also recommended NASA and other agencies prioritize planetary defense by detecting and tracking objects that pose a threat to life on Earth, saying this proposal was "more concerned with human health and safety rather than the advancement of scientific understanding."

It said the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 demonstrated  how dangerous extraterrestrial bodies are to Earth and its inhabitants and the importance of planetary defense.

The meteor, weighing 10,000 metric tons, released about 440 kilotons of energy when it exploded above the city, injuring over 1,000 people.

Go deeper: Chinese astronauts land on Earth after longest crewed space mission

Once-in-a-decade report urges NASA to explore Uranus

It would help researchers better understand the planet's origin, rings and satellites.

The planet Uranus viewed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986.

The planet Uranus viewed by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1986. Photo: Heritage Space/Heritage Images/Getty Images

NASA

The U.S. will no longer test direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles in space because of the dangers of the space debris created by them, Vice President Kamala Harris announced at Vandenberg Space Force Base Monday.

Why it matters: Harris condemned Russia's ASAT test in November, which generated at least 1,500 pieces of debris that threatened the International Space Station and its crew and could go on to threaten other satellites.

Russia claimed at the time that debris created by the test "did not and will not pose a threat to orbital stations, spacecraft and space activities" and called the U.S. accusations "hypocritical."

Independent astronomers and satellite trackers also concluded that debris threatened those aboard the ISS.

How it works: Destructive weapon tests in space can generate thousands of pieces of debris that may stay in orbit and pose a risk for space-based technologies and people for years or even decades.

The U.S. conducted several weapons tests in space over the decades, though its last was in 2008, when it destroyed a defunct spy satellite in low orbit with a missile. That test produced 174 pieces of debris, according to Secure World Foundation.

China tested a direct-ascent kinetic weapon in 2007 that spawned a cloud of more than 3,000 pieces of space debris, some of which are still in orbit.

India successfully tested an anti-satellite weapon in March 2019. That test, too, created hundreds of pieces of debris, though the Indian government took steps to limit the amount of time those fragments would remain in orbit.

What they're saying: "We must write the new rules of the road, and we lead by example," Harris said. "These tests, to be sure, are reckless and they are irresponsible. These tests also put in danger so much of what we do in space."

"We are the first nation to make such a commitment, and today, on behalf of the United States of America, I call on all nations to join us, whether they are spacefaring or not. We believe this will benefit everyone, just as space benefits everyone."

The big picture: Militaries have increasingly focused on developing and testing anti-satellite weapons in recent years, and more competition and congestion in space may pressure additional countries to pursue such technologies.

Go deeper: Russia threatens to end cooperation with International Space Station

Harris: U.S. will no longer test anti-satellite missiles

"These tests, to be sure, are reckless and they are irresponsible," Harris said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at Vandenberg Space Force Base on April 18.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on April 18. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Kamala Harris

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after six months in space in the longest crewed mission to date for the country's space program, AP reports.

Driving the news: The Shenzhou 13 space capsule landed in the Gobi desert in the northern region of Inner Mongolia on Saturday after 183 days in space, per Reuters.

Astronaut Wang Yaping also completed the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman. 

The big picture: China launched its first astronaut into space in 2003 and landed rovers on the moon in 2013 and on Mars.

The crew that returned on Saturday was the second crew aboard Tiangong, or Heavenly Palace.

Its core module, Tianhe, was launched in April 2021, per AP. 

What to watch: Authorities have yet to announce a date for launching the next Tiangong crew.

Go deeper: China launches Tianhe module of new space station

Chinese astronauts land on Earth after longest crewed space mission

Astronaut Wang Yaping also completed the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman.

Students wave Chinese national flags as they watch a live TV broadcast of the landing of Shenzhou-13 return capsule.

Students wave Chinese national flags as they watch a live TV broadcast of the landing of the Shenzhou-13 return capsule at Chongqing Vocational College of Intelligent Engineering on April 16 in Chongqing, China. Photo: Chen Shichuan/VCG via Getty Images

China

NASA and SpaceX launched the first mission with an all-private crew to the International Space Station on Friday, sending a former NASA astronaut and three paying customers aboard a Crew Dragon capsule lifted by a Falcon 9 rocket.

The latest: The crew finished the first leg of its journey and docked at the ISS Saturday morning after a 21-hour trip in the Dragon capsule.

Why it matters: The 10-day mission, called Ax-1, was organized by Houston-based company Axiom Space, which hopes to one day build the world's first commercial space station.

This mission represents a major leap in NASA's bid to create an economy in low-Earth orbit supported by private companies, and it's Axiom's first crewed space mission.

The crew: Former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría is the commander, Larry Connor is the pilot, and Mark Pathy and Eytan Stibbe are mission specialists.

After docking with the ISS early Saturday morning, the four crew members are scheduled to spend about eight days on the space station, where they plan to participate in research projects.

Stibbe, a former Israeli aircraft pilot, is now the second Israeli citizen to go to space. The first was Ilan Ramon, who perished along with six other crew members during STS-107 in 2003 when the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded on reentry.

What they're saying: "We're taking commercial business off the face of the Earth and putting it up in space," NASA administrator Bill Nelson said during an interview with Axiom Space before the launch.

"We want to get NASA out of low-Earth orbit and go explore the heavens. We want to direct our energy and our resources to do that because we're going back to the Moon, and we're going to Mars," Nelson added.

"We want to have commercial space stations. NASA wants to [have the] ability to lease space on a commercial space station instead of having the responsibility of the space station."

The big picture: With the ISS retiring within the next decade, NASA risks losing a foothold in low-Earth orbit at a time when that domain of space is predicted to become more congested as more countries and companies gain access to space travel.

NASA has asked private companies, like Axiom Space, to develop new commercial stations that NASA astronauts could visit and perform experiments on.

Multiple companies are now vying for the chance to build such space stations, Axios' Miriam Kramer reports.

SpaceX became the first company to carry NASA astronauts to the ISS in May 2020 and the first to launch a completely private, all-civilian mission to space in September 2021 with Inspiration4.

Go deeper: SpaceX to launch three additional private missions

Editor's note: This article was updated after the mission docked at the ISS.

NASA and SpaceX launch first all-private crewed mission to ISS

It was organized by Axiom Space, which hopes to build the world's first commercial space station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Crew Dragon spacecraft with four passengers lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 8.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Crew Dragon spacecraft with four passengers lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 8. Photo: Red Huber/Getty Images

Teams of Hubble Space Telescope astronomers studying massive, extremely hot Jupiter-like exoplanets have found evidence of extreme weather conditions — like raining vaporized rock — and atmospheric chemistry occurring on the worlds, NASA announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: Studying the exotic weather on these uninhabitable gas giants can help researchers better understand Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of other potentially inhabitable terrestrial planets.

On WASP-178 b, a gas giant discovered in 2019 around 1,300 light-years away from Earth, Hubble researchers detected the presence of silicon monoxide, suggesting the solid is condensing and raining from clouds in certain parts of the planet.

Because WASP-178 b is fairly close and tidally locked to its star, the cloudless day side of the planet that always faces the star is heated to around 3,950 degrees Fahrenheit and is enriched with gases, including vaporized silicon. 

The night side of the planet remains comparatively cooler but is thrashed by super-hurricane speeds exceeding 2,000 miles per hour. The researchers believe the super-heated gasses cool and condense into raining solids, including silicon monoxide, on the planet's night side.

In a paper published in the journal Nature on April 6, the researchers said they believe it was the first time silicon monoxide had been detected in an exoplanet.

On KELT-20 b, another extremely hot gas giant discovered in 2017 about 400 light-years away, researchers discovered a thermal inversion layer in its atmosphere — similar to Earth's stratosphere — caused by ultraviolet light from its parent star heating atmospheric metals to extremely high temperatures.

This inversion layer creates KELT-20 b's unique atmosphere, which seems to contain more water and carbon monoxide than other hot Jupiter-like planets, as detailed in a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters in January.

What they're saying: Figuring out how gas giants' massive atmospheres work is key to understanding the smaller atmospheres of terrestrial exoplanets, Josh Lothringer, an assistant professor at Utah Valley University and lead author of the WASP-178 b paper, said in a statement.

Go deeper: Hubble Space Telescope detects light from farthest star ever seen

Hubble takes a peek at "ultra-hot" Jupiter-like planets

Studying the exotic weather on gas giants can help researchers better understand Earth's atmosphere.

An artist's depiction of an ultra-hot gas planet, KELT-20b. 

An artist's depiction of an ultra-hot gas planet, KELT-20 b. Illustration: NASA, ESA, Leah Hustak

Russia's space director threatened Saturday to end cooperation with partners at the International Space Station (ISS) until Western sanctions are lifted, Reuters reports.

Driving the news: Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, wrote on social media that the sanctions seek to "kill Russian economy and plunge our people into despair and hunger, to get our country on its knees."

"That's why I believe that the restoration of normal relations between the partners at the International Space Station and other projects is possible only with full and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions," Rogozin wrote in a tweet, per Reuters. 

The big picture: Rogozin has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the space station and allow it to fall back to Earth in an uncontrolled deorbit in protest of sanctions on Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.

NASA said earlier this month that Russia was committed to the ISS, despite threats from Rogozin that it would end cooperation on the station.

The ISS can't function properly without both Russia and the U.S. participating. 

State of play: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, returned to Earth this week from the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

Before the landing, Rogozin threatened that Russia could either shut down or detach the primary engines that keep ISS in orbit and would not intervene if the spacecraft risked falling back to Earth in an uncontrolled deorbit.

Go deeper: NASA head says Russia is still committed to International Space Station

Russia threatens to end cooperation with International Space Station

Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, wrote on social media that Russia would not cooperate until sanctions are lifted.

The head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, attends a report ceremony. 

Dmitry Rogozin before a launch at the Baikonur cosmodrome on Dec. 8, 2021. Photo: Pavel Pavlov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Record Broken: Hubble Spots Farthest Star Ever Seen

NASA announced Wednesday that the Hubble Space Telescope detected light from the most distant individual star ever seen to date.

Why it matters: Light from the star, which existed within the first billion years after the Big Bang, took 12.9 billion years to reach Earth.

The previous record of the farthest star ever seen took 9 billion years to reach Earth, and it was detected by Hubble in 2018.

The big picture: Hubble was able to detect the star — which researchers named "Earendel," meaning "morning star" in Old English — through a natural gravitational lens caused by clusters of galaxies that magnifies light from distant galaxies behind this gravitational field.

Researchers estimate Earendel is at least 50 times the mass of the Sun and millions of times as bright, rivaling the most massive stars known.

What they're saying: "We almost didn’t believe it at first, it was so much farther than the previous most-distant, highest redshift star," Brian Welch, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University and the lead author of the paper describing the find in the journal Nature on Wednesday, said in a statement.

“Normally at these distances, entire galaxies look like small smudges, with the light from millions of stars blending together."

“Earendel existed so long ago that it may not have had all the same raw materials as the stars around us today,” he added. “Studying Earendel will be a window into an era of the universe that we are unfamiliar with, but that led to everything we do know."

What's next: Welch and other researchers hope to view Earendel with NASA's newly launched James Webb Space Telescope, which is significantly more powerful than Hubble.

“With Webb we expect to confirm Earendel is indeed a star, as well as measure its brightness and temperature,” said Dan Coe, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute and co-author of the paper.

Coe said he expects Webb will be able to help determine the elements that make up Earendel. The star was formed before heavy elements were largely present in the universe, and it could be a rare massive low-metal star largely made up of primordial hydrogen and helium. 

Go deeper: NASA's Mark Vande Hei returns to Earth after record mission

Hubble Space Telescope detects light from farthest star ever seen

Light from the star Earendel took 12.9 billion years to reach Earth.

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and two cosmonauts, Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, returned to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft that touched down in Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning.

Why it matters: The landing, which concludes Vande Hei's NASA record-breaking 355 consecutive days in space, comes as the U.S. and Russia's relationship in space has become significantly damaged over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The space relationship was already frayed before the invasion from Moscow's test of an anti-satellite missile in November, debris from which threatened the ISS' crew and could go on to damage other satellites, according to NASA. 

The U.S. and Russia have collaborated in a civilian capacity in space for decades, primarily through the ISS — which can't function properly without both countries participating.

What they're saying: Vande Hei, who surpassed former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly’s 340-day record on March 15, said in a video before the landing he was "looking forward to being outside, no matter what kind of weather" and that his time in space changed the way he saw Earth.

"Having been up here, looking down at the Earth from outside the atmosphere, to me, that atmosphere right now looks so thin," Vande Hei said. 

"Back on Earth, it seems much clearer to me that when you're standing outside looking up at the stars, you're really in space. The only thing separating you from the vacuum of space is that precious thin layer of atmosphere that we call home."

Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the world record for the longest consecutive time spent in space with 437.7 days.

Dubrov, who landed with Vande Hei on Wednesday, also completed 355 consecutive days in space.

Vande Hei has now spent a total of 523 days in space, placing him third on the most cumulative days living and working in space for an American astronaut.

The big picture: In the weeks before the landing, Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, repeatedly threatened to stop cooperating with the ISS in protest of sanctions on Moscow over its invasion.

As part of his threats, Rogozin said Russia could either shut down or detach the primary engines that keep ISS in orbit and would not intervene if the spacecraft risked falling back to Earth in an uncontrolled deorbit.

Roscosmos, apparently in jest, also posted edited videos on social media weeks before the landing showing the cosmonauts leaving Vande Hei behind with other ISS crew members and detaching the Russian portion of the station altogether, sending the spacecraft into freefall back to Earth.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson and other officials have said that Russia remains committed to the ISS despite Rogozin's comments.

What's next: Russia sent three cosmonauts to the ISS earlier this month, and it has at least two more planned launches to the station this year, one of which will be crewed.

SpaceX is set to launch two crewed missions to the ISS next month.

One, scheduled to launch no earlier than April 6, is on behalf of Axiom Space, a Houston-based developer of what may be the world's first commercial space station.

The other is on behalf of NASA and is set to launch no earlier than April 19.

 Go deeper: European Space Agency suspends Mars rover mission over Ukraine invasion

NASA's Mark Vande Hei returns to Earth after record mission

Vande Hei spent 355 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei inspecting a flight suit aboard the International Space Station in August 2021.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei inspecting a flight suit aboard the International Space Station in August 2021. Photo: NASA

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is seen outside the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after he landed with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov .

Russia

NASA administrator Bill Nelson said on Friday that Russia is still committed to the International Space Station despite recent threats to end cooperation on the station from the head of its state-run space agency.

Why it matters: Roscosmos director general Dmitry Rogozin has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the space station and allow it to fall back to Earth in an uncontrolled deorbit in protest of sanctions on Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. and Russia's relationship in space was already significantly frayed after Moscow tested an anti-satellite missile in November, debris from which  threatened the crew of the ISS, NASA said.

The U.S. and Russia have collaborated in civilian capacity in space for decades, primarily through the ISS — which can't function without both countries participating.

What they're saying: Nelson pointed to Russia's plan to launch three cosmonauts to the ISS on Friday as evidence of its desire to continue cooperating with the U.S. on the station.

"The Russians are still committed to the International Space Station by virtue of the fact that they're going to lift off from Baikonur today," Nelson said on CNBC Friday.

Nelson told AP that Rogozin "spouts off every now and then. But at the end of the day, he’s worked with us."

"The other people that work in the Russian civilian space program, they’re professional. They don’t miss a beat with us, American astronauts and American mission control."

The big picture: Roscosmos stopped all Soyuz rocket launches from the European Space Agency's primary spaceport in February in protest of sanctions, resulting in the suspension of ExoMars, Europe's first-ever rover mission to Mars that was set to launch this year.

American astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who broke the U.S. single spaceflight record of 340 days on Tuesday, is set to return back to Earth on a Russian Soyuz  spacecraft on March 30 with cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov.

Roscosmos has said that Vande Hei will return on the capsule, though it has also posted edited — and apparently comical — videos on social media showing the cosmonauts leaving him behind and detaching the Russian portion of the ISS altogether.

Go deeper: NATO reveals how it will operate in outer space

NASA head says Russia is still committed to International Space Station

Nelson told AP that his Russian counterpart "spouts off every now and then. But at the end of the day, he’s worked with us."

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during a press conference in Orlando in November 2021.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson during a press conference in Orlando in November 2021. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Axios Space

Billionaire entrepreneurs are fundamentally changing the public's relationship with space.

Why it matters: Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are thrusting the industry into a new era of marketing for mass appeal, angling to make citizens into customers and changing the rhetoric around space in the process.

"I think this is a big moment because the public face of the space industry is no longer NASA and science and peaceful activities. It's now billionaires and companies trying to make money," the Secure World Foundation's Brian Weeden told me.

NASA is also supporting the efforts of private companies, looking to become more of a buyer of services in orbit while using its resources to push deeper into space with missions to the Moon and Mars.

Between the lines: The space industry is finding itself at the center of a cultural clash as billionaires make themselves front and center in spaceflight today.

A shift in rhetoric and perception around space — away from government-led exploration and toward a business realm — "comes at a time when there's a significant amount of backlash and criticism about hyper-capitalism and billionaires and inequality," Weeden said.

Criticism of billionaires could also bleed into American support for space exploration in the future, Weeden cautioned.

Driving the news: On Sunday, Virgin Galactic launched Branson to the edge of space aboard its space plane during a star-studded event that barely nodded to the risks of suborbital flight.

Instead of highlighting technical details, as most NASA-involved launches from Cape Canaveral do, the company's webcast served as a form of entertainment and advertising for a flight with Virgin Galactic.

The company tried to draw in potential customers with guest stars on the broadcast, including Stephen Colbert and Khalid.

Branson himself was onboard ostensibly to analyze the astronaut experience. But Kellie Gerardi, one of the webcast hosts, described it this way:  "For this next generation of astronauts, we have the opportunity to optimize the experience and there’s just no one better to curate that experience than Richard Branson."

But, but, but: What the public gains in entertainment, it could lose in transparency. 

Webcasts that focus more on technical details keep an audience up to date on what's happening in mission control or during flight. 

By trading that technical information for entertainment, the public and press could lose access to important safety information necessary for potential customers to make an informed decision.

Plus, these companies aren't likely to be as beholden to the public as the government, meaning they may not freely share as much information as government actors do.

What to watch: Officials in other nations are taking note of the influence billionaires have on U.S. efforts in space.

"I hope that someday our billionaire oligarchs will begin to spend their money not on the next yachts and vanity fairs, but on the development of space technologies and knowledge about space," Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's space agency, said on Twitter.

Virgin's show may also force other companies to take note and find new and engaging ways to bring a wide audience into their dreams of space travel while remaining entertaining.

It's not yet clear what Blue Origin will pull out for the webcast of its launch with Bezos on July 20, but if it's anything like past launch broadcasts for the company, it should include a mix of technical data and advertising.

Billionaires are the new face of the final frontier

Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and their ilk are changing the rhetoric around space and the public's relationship to it.

Illustration of planets hanging on a retail shopping rack with sale stickers placed haphazardly

Axios Generate

NASA chief touts new Earth-observing satellites for climate

"I became more of an environmentalist when I went into space," NASA's Bill Nelson said.

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