Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP) – Four astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for the launch of SpaceX’s second crew, which will arrive next weekend.
Japanese astronauts Sochi Noguchi, from left, NASA astronauts Shannon Waker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins, depart after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla. On Sunday, November 8, 2020. These four astronauts will fly on SpaceX. Crew-1 mission is scheduled for the unveiling of the International Space Station on November 14, 2020 (AP Photo / Terry Rena)
For NASA, the long-awaited start is a sign of the crew’s regular rotation to the International Space Station, with private companies providing lifts. With the test flight earlier this year, the number of astronauts will double and their mission will last a full six months.
“Make no mistake: every flight is a test flight when it comes to space travel. But it is also true that we need to be able to visit the International Space Station regularly, “said NASA Administrator Jim Brydenstein, welcoming astronauts to Kennedy.
Left Shannon Waker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Sochi Noguchi during a news conference after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. On Sunday, November 8, 2020. The astronauts will fly on the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch on November 14, 2020 (AP Photo / Terry Rena)
A crew of three Americans and a Japanese man are scheduled to rocket on Saturday night, provided the tropical storm does not interfere. It will be a fast voyage to the space station, with the six-orbit express running less than nine hours.
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Coronavirus and social isolation, protests against racial injustice, and especially the difficult election and campaign season: Astronauts have named their Dragon Capsule Releases in view of all the challenges of 2020. They stay apart for a week or two and safety precautions – masks and social distance – are taking it a long time ago.
“It’s been a difficult year for all of us for a variety of reasons,” crew commander Mike Hopkins said after taking off from Houston. “We felt that if the name of our vehicle could give a little hope, a little inspiration, put a smile on people’s faces, that’s definitely what we wanted to do.”
The four will remain in orbit until spring, when they will be replaced by another SpaceX Dragon capsule. The cargo version of the capsule will also continue to deliver food and supplies regularly.
SpaceX’s Benji Reed said the company expects to launch seven dragons in the next 14 months: three for the crew and four for the cargo.
“Every time a dragon is launched, there will be two dragons in space,” said Reed, director of crew mission management.
NASA’s other hired taxi service, meanwhile, Boeing, is not expected to fly its first crew until next summer. The company plans another unmanned test flight in a few months; The first encountered so many software problems that the Starliner capsule failed to reach the space station.
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After the retirement of the shuttle fleet in 2011, NASA turned to private companies for space station delivery – cargo, then crew. U.S. astronauts keep riding on Russian rockets at rising prices. The last Soyuz ticket cost NASA $ 90 million.
For astronauts, SpaceX finally ended NASA’s nearly decade-long release drought, successfully delivering a pair of test pilots from Kennedy to a two-month stay at the space station. The returning capsule was checked by SpaceX after its splash down, resulting in a few changes to this second flight.
Engineers discovered excessive erosion in the heat shield from the serrating rantry temperature; Hans Koenigsman, vice president of SpaceX, said the company had reduced the sensitive section for the next launch. After the hut opened slightly lower on the first astronaut flight, the itude height-measuring system for parachutes was also improved. Recently, the Falcon rocket had two engines replaced, due to contamination with the red lacquer used in the process. The flight was delayed by two weeks after the engine was replaced.
The biggest surprise of the first SpaceX crew flight was all the private boats that were full of gavkars that surrounded the capsule in the Gulf of Mexico following the flooding in Mexico Gust. Koenigsman promises a large cut-out zone and more patrolling for future returns.
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The second crew has three PT flyers and a first timer:
– Hopkins, 51, is an Air Force colonel and former space station resident who grew up on a hog and cattle ranch in Missouri.
– Navy CMDR. Victor Glover, 44, is a pilot and lone space rookie; He is from the Los Angeles area and will be the first African American astronaut to migrate to the space station for a long stay.
– Houston-born and raised physicist Jani, 55, also lived on the Shannon before tax, space station; Her husband, retired astronaut Andrew Thomas, helped build the outpost.
– Sochi Noguchi, 55, another former station resident of Japan’s space agency, will become the first person in decades to land on three types of rocketships; It has already reached the U.S. Flying on the space shuttle and the Russian Soyuz.
They will be joined by two Russians and an American who arrived at the space station from Kazakhstan last month.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s other company – the founder of SpaceX, which is color-coordinated in SpaceX, will go to Hopkins and his crew in the Teslas. But below all good looks is “a lot of amazing potential,” according to Glover.
“It is a very attractive capsule. But in this country, we have had the benefit of making a big leap in technology since the last time we built a spacecraft, ”Wakere said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.
Noguchi, who just joined the crew this year with Waker Karni, is particularly excited for the dragon ride. In Japan, the dragon is a revered mythical animal – “almost a ride to heaven.”
“It’s really a privilege to learn how to train a dragon, to learn how to operate a dragon.” “SpaceX gave a good job in six months from the start to the Dragon Rider.”
