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With less than 36 hours to go, Crew-1, SpaceX’s first full-length mission for NASA, will take astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi to the International Space Station for a six-month stay. months aboard the orbital laboratory.
Scheduled to take off on Saturday, November 14 at 7:49 p.m. EST (0049 GMT on November 15), the Crew Dragon is the first manned spacecraft certified by NASA for regular flights with astronauts from the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago. years. The trip will also mark the longest-running human space mission ever launched from US soil.
NASA paved the way forward for the mission after certifying the entire launch system for manned spaceflight, including the Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, on Tuesday, making Elon Musk’s Crew Dragon the first commercial spacecraft. of history to receive the designation.
“Certification takes us from the design and testing phase to the crew rotation phase of our work, but we will continue to ensure that every flight, including NASA’s Space Crew-1 mission, is approached with the same rigor we’ve put in place to make this the best system that can be for our astronauts, “said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
Crew-1 is SpaceX’s second crewed trip to the ISS; the first was its Demo-2 mission in May. Aptly named for its purpose, Demo-2 served as an end-to-end demonstration of SpaceX’s crew transport system.
Its occupants, veteran space visitors Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, made spaceflight history as the first American astronauts to take off from American soil in a private rocket. The duo worked alongside the Expedition 63 crew for 62 days before returning to Earth.
Crew-1 members will look forward to similar success when they depart tomorrow’s famous Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, to join current ISS residents Sergey Ryzhikov, Kate Rubins and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Cosmonauts Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov are preparing for a Russian spacewalk that will take place shortly after the four new crew members arrive.
“We are ready for this launch. We are ready for the six months of work that await us aboard the International Space Station, and we are ready for the return,” NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins told reporters during a pre-announcement news. The mission. conference.
Yesterday, the four commercial crew astronauts dressed up and performed a countdown dress rehearsal of launch day events inside the Crew Dragon, which has been on the launch pad since Monday night (November 9). .
“It feels great to be here. On behalf of the Resilience crew, we want to thank SpaceX, NASA and DOD, who have been working tirelessly to get us to this point, ”added Hopkins.
This first commercial crew mission is the first of six that SpaceX has contracted with NASA; an association that has been in the making for almost a decade.
“I couldn’t be more proud of everyone at SpaceX and all of our suppliers who worked incredibly hard to develop, test and fly the first commercial manned space flight system ever certified by NASA,” said Elon Musk, head of SpaceX. “This is a great, confidence-inspiring honor in our effort to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and ultimately help humanity become multi-planetary,” Musk said, thanking NASA for its continued support for your space exploration company.
All that remains is for the weather to play ball. Threatening to overshadow the proceedings is the predicted Tropical Storm / Hurricane Eta.
Eta made landfall along Florida’s west coast early Thursday and has been bringing heavy rain inland. Current forecasts from the National Hurricane Center indicate that a close passage to the spaceport is possible on 14th, although a 70 percent chance of favorable weather conditions has been forecast for the launch.
NASA will hold a “countdown clock briefing” today (November 13) at 10 am EST (1500 GMT) to discuss the upcoming launch.
From the left; Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi – The first NASA commercial crew astronauts heading to the ISS on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon tomorrow (November 14, 2020), weather permitting. Image: NASA
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