Historian Douglas Brinkley predicts SpaceX launch will begin a 'new era of space' exploration

Historian Douglas Brinkley told "The Story" Wednesday that the upcoming launch of a manned, privately built SpaceX rocket will mark the beginning of a new era for American space exploration following the demise of the "elongated" shuttle program.

Wednesday's scheduled launch was postponed to Saturday due to inclement weather. Brinkley told host Martha MacCallum that while he was "disappointed that the launch didn't happen," the safety of the astronauts should be the highest priority.

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"[The Apollo I fire in 1967] almost stopped us going to the moon," he said. "Then in 1986 with President Reagan we had the Challenger blow up on takeoff, and then we had a setback in 2003 with the Columbia.

"I could not wait for take-off today ... but, alas caution is important."

Brinkley told MacCallum that the United States is "entering a new era of space exploration with privatization and we want this to be as perfect as possible, so I hope everyone is watching this Saturday. It's a big deal."

MacCallum noted that Brinkley had previously compared the advancements in space technology to the advancements of Henry Ford or the Wright Brothers.

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"It's a good comparison," Brinkley said. "Elon Musk is very much like Henry Ford. Some would call Ford 'Crazy Henry' with his Model T, and Musk has his critics -- but he is driven and he stayed with it."

Brinkley added that American prominence in space has been waning for a long time, with Americans hitching rides to the International Space Station on Russian crafts since the last space shuttle flight in 2011. Meanwhile, China landed a spacecraft on the so-called "dark side of the moon" last year.

"So this is the beginning of a new era of space, and sort of the closing of the elongated Apollo- space shuttle era."