NASA and SpaceX on Sunday launched four astronauts on a Tesla-made Falcon 9 flight to the International Space Station (ISS) marking the first space administration mission where it sent astronauts on a full mission aboard a spacecraft from private property.
The ship will carry the Crew Dragon Resilience team consisting of astronauts Mike Hopkins, a U.S. Air Force Colonel, physicist Shannon Walker, Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi along with naval commander and rookie astronaut Victor Glover. (who is the first black astronaut to spend a full six months on board). the space station) to the International Space Station via the Falcon9 spacecraft.
The families of the astronauts present at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida greeted the astronauts and said goodbye to them as they prepared for lift-off. Due to the absence of Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk due to Covid-19, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell joined NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine ahead of liftoff.
The crew has named the capsule Resilience in an attempt to highlight the challenges it has faced in 2020 so far. Takeoff is scheduled for 5:57 a.m., which has brought many spectators to the towns near Cape Canaveral.
The astronauts performed all the tests and the spacecraft was checked before takeoff, according to a series of tweets shared by NASA before takeoff. SpaceX’s first regular spaceflight to take off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center is a reusable rocket called Falcon 9 developed and built by SpaceX.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine had told reporters that this mission means that there may now be operational flights to the International Space Station. He said: “The story that is being made this time is that we are launching what we call an operational flight to the International Space Station.”
Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk was unable to attend the event as he said Saturday that he has developed a mild case of Covid-19. He tweeted: “I am getting wildly different results from different labs, but most likely I have a moderate case of covid. My symptoms are those of a mild cold, which is not surprising, since a coronavirus is a type of cold.
Also expected to attend the event are US Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence.
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