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SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station in the first full taxi flight for NASA conducted by a private company.
The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three Americans and a Japanese on board, the second crew launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule at the top, named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, especially Covid-19, will arrive at the space station after 27 1/2 hours and will remain there until spring.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk was forced to monitor the action from afar after being sidelined by the virus. He tweeted that he “most likely” had a moderate case of Covid-19. NASA policy at the Kennedy Space Center requires anyone who tests positive for coronavirus to self-quarantine and remain in isolation.
Sunday’s launch comes just months after a test flight by two SpaceX pilots and kicks off what NASA hopes will be a long series of crew rotations between the US and the space station, afterward. years behind. More people means more scientific research in the orbiting laboratory, authorities said.
“This is another historic moment,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Friday. But he noted: “Make no mistake: vigilance is always required on every flight.”
The flight to the space station must be fully automated, although the crew can take control if necessary.
Four hours after liftoff, NASA announced that it was investigating “a problem with the propellant heaters and was continuing to collect data.” Half an hour later, NASA tweeted: “Crews are troubleshooting the propellant heaters that heat fuel aboard Crew Dragon. Temperatures remain stable and the crew remains safe. “
The role of propellant heaters is keep fuel above 60F, according to CBS space journalist William Harwood.
About five hours after takeoff, the problem had been resolved, as was a problem with the thermal control system, which was running a little too cold.
With Covid-19 still on the rise, NASA continued with the safety precautions in place for the SpaceX crew launch in May. The astronauts went into quarantine with their families in October. All launch personnel wore masks and the number of guests at Kennedy was limited. Even the two astronauts from the first SpaceX crew flight stayed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Vice President Mike Pence, president of the National Space Council, traveled from Washington to witness the launch.
NASA was concerned that a weekend liftoff, along with a dramatic night launch, could lead to a super spreader event and urged crowds to wear masks and keep safe distances. Similar pleas for the first SpaceX crew launch on May 30 went unheeded.
The three-man and one-woman crew, led by Commander Mike Hopkins, an Air Force colonel, named their capsule Resilience in a nod not only to the pandemic, but also to racial injustice and contentious politics. It’s as diverse as space crews come, with physicist Shannon Walker, as well as Navy Commander Victor Glover, the first black astronaut on a long-term mission on a space station, and Japanese Soichi Noguchi, who became the first person in nearly 40 years to launch in three types of spacecraft.
They rode to the launch pad at Teslas after exchanging crashes and hugs with their children and spouses, who huddled in the car’s open windows. Musk was replaced by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell when saying goodbye to the astronauts.
The Dragon capsule is quite spacious: it can carry up to seven people. Previous space capsules launched with no more than three. The extra space in the capsule was used for science experiments and supplies.
The four astronauts will join two Russians and an American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan.
The first-stage thruster, which landed on an ocean platform several minutes after liftoff, is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch, scheduled for late March. That would prepare the newly launched astronauts to return to Earth in April. SpaceX plans to launch another crew several months after that.
SpaceX and NASA wanted the booster to recover so much that they delayed the launch attempt one day, to give the floating platform time to reach its position in the Atlantic over the weekend after rough seas.
With Associated Press
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