SpaceX Spacecraft Crew Dragon “Resilience” on the launchpad ahead of the Crew-1 launch for NASA.
SpaceX
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced Tuesday that it has certified SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Capsule and Falcon 9 rocket to take astronauts into orbit, the first spacecraft certified by the agency since the space shuttle program nearly 40 years ago.
The certificate marks a historic milestone for both NASA and Elon Musk’s space company. Under the Commercial Crew Program, NASA supplied most of the funds used to develop the Crew Dragon and perform hundreds of tests over the past six years.
“Thanks to NASA for its continued support and partnership in achieving this goal,” Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, said in a statement. “I can’t be more proud of everyone at SpaceX and all of our suppliers who have worked hard to develop, test and fly the first commercial manned spacecraft system in NASA-certified history. This is a great honor that inspires confidence. Going back to the moon, traveling to Mars and eventually helping humanity become multi-planetary. “
Since the space shuttle retired in 2011, the USA has paid Russia over 80 80 million per seat to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s certification ends its dependence on Russia, and it comes with an estimated cost of approximately 55 55 million per astronaut. In addition, Boeing is also working to complete its Starliner capsule under a commercial crew program, with NASA estimating that the two private companies are competing for the contract, costing the agency between 20 20 billion and 30 30 billion in development.
NASA Administrator Jim Brydenstein said in a statement that the certification goal is an incredible achievement of NASA and SpaceX that highlights the progress we can make working together in the professional industry.
From left to right, NASA astronauts Shannon Waker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and JXA astronaut Sochi Noguchi.
NASA
The NASA certification came after the agency and SpaceX completed reviews of the crew-1 mission, currently scheduled to be unveiled from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday. The mission will take the SpaceX rocket and spacecraft to three NASA astronauts – Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Vaker – as well as a Japanese astronaut – Sochi Noguchi – to the ISS, where they will spend six months doing research and tasks.
“This is a very exciting day for those of us who have been waiting for this for a really long time,” Kathy Luders, director of NASA’s manned spacecraft, told reporters after completing the crew-1 reviews. “
The agency will now be able to increase its continued presence on the ISS to six to seven astronauts, spending more time on scientific research and experiments.
“NASA’s partnership with the American private industry is changing the course of human spacecraft’s history by opening up access to more people, more science and more commercial opportunities for low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station,” said Aster, director of NASA’s Commercial Spaceflight. “We are truly at the beginning of a new era of human spacecraft.”
Crew-1 arrives five months after successfully completing its Demo-2 flight, which took NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the company’s first crew mission and final crew dragon test flight. The Crew-1 mission comes with additional milestones for SpaceX, as it marks the beginning of a regular astronaut mission for the company. Between its Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon spacecraft, SpaceX expects a steady presence in space.
“Starting with the cargo mission CRS-21, every time we launch a dragon, there will be two dragons in space at once, for an extended period of time,” Benji Reed, senior director at SpaceX, said on Tuesday.
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