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Washington, April 17 (IANS) NASA will send its astronauts on U.S. rockets from U.S. land for the first time in nearly a decade, as the U.S. space agency said Friday that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard the Falcon 9 rocket will depart for the International Space Station ( ISS) at 4.32 pm EDT on May 27.
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly in the SpaceX spacecraft as part of the American Space Agency’s Commercial Crew Program, heralding a new era of human space flight.
“On May 27, @NASA will again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil! With our partners @SpaceX, @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken will launch @Space_Station on the #CrewDragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket. Let’s go to #LaunchAmerica, “said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a tweet.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft will take off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, for an extended stay on the space station for the Demo-2 mission.
The specific duration of the mission will be determined.
As a final flight test for SpaceX, this mission will validate the company’s crew transport system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, and operational capabilities.
This will also be the first time that NASA astronauts have tested spacecraft systems in orbit.
Behnken will be the mission’s joint operations commander, responsible for activities such as rendezvous, docking, and decoupling, as well as Demo-2 activities while the spacecraft is docked at the space station.
He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 and has completed two space shuttle flights. Behnken flew STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010, and performed three spacewalks during each mission.
Before joining NASA, Behnken was a flight test engineer with the US Air Force. USA
Hurley will be the commander of the Demo-2 spacecraft, responsible for activities such as launch, landing, and recovery. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000 and has completed two space flights.
Hurley served as pilot and chief robotics operator for STS-127 in July 2009 and STS-135, the final mission of the space shuttle, in July 2011.
After successfully docking, Behnken and Hurley will be welcomed aboard the station and become members of the Expedition 63 crew. They will conduct tests on the Crew Dragon in addition to conducting investigations and other duties with the space station crew, he said. The NASA.
Although the Crew Dragon used for this flight test can remain in orbit for about 110 days, the duration of the specific mission will be determined once at the station based on the preparation of the next commercial crew launch.
The operational Crew Dragon spacecraft will be able to remain in orbit for at least 210 days as a requirement of NASA.
At the conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the two astronauts on board, exit the space station, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. After a dip off Florida’s Atlantic coast, the crew will be picked up at sea by SpaceX’s Go Navigator recovery ship and will return to Cape Canaveral, NASA said.
The Demo-2 mission will be the final big step before NASA’s Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew Dragon for long-term operational missions on the space station.
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