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SpaceX is about to launch four astronauts in the first human-rated commercial spacecraft.
This will not be SpaceX’s first human mission. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley boarded the Crew Dragon spacecraft this summer, launched a rocket into Earth’s orbit, and docked at the International Space Station. After two months of living and working on the space station, they rejoined the Crew Dragon, screaming through the atmosphere and parachuting safely to Earth.
But the entire mission was seen as a demo, a crucial step in gaining NASA certification for the human universe.
On Tuesday, NASA announced that it has finally certified the entire SpaceX launch system for human space flight.
The decision was the result of an inspection of the agency’s readiness for flight, during which experts and officials spent two days inspecting SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft, software and operations. mission.
The certification took place a few days before the next scheduled launch of the SpaceX astronauts, scheduled for Saturday. The company has already deployed a new Crew Dragon on the rocket in preparation for this mission, the longest and most critical to date. The return mission called Crew-1 is the first of six space stations that the missile company Elona Muska has ordered from NASA.
Crew 1 astronauts sit inside the crew kite during training. From left: Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi.
SpaceX via NASA
“People tend to think it’s just a spaceship, but it’s a spaceship, it’s a launch vehicle, it’s all working out on earth, how are you doing mission operations. Anything that will fly safely with our crew to the International Space Station and back and then it will recover, ”Kathy Lueders said at a press conference on Tuesday, who leads NASA’s spaceflight program. “You showed us the data and we trust you. It’s a big confidence factor here.”
Weather permitting, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will launch a crew kite into space Saturday at 7:49 pm Eastern Time. Astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi will be on board. They are expected to dock at the space station eight and a half hours later, where they will remain for about six months, the longest human spaceflight in US history.
When it’s time to go home, the astronauts board the Crew Dragon, which remains attached to the space station during their stay, and then overcomes a fiery fall into Earth’s atmosphere.
“The lives of the crew are in our hands – a very important responsibility,” Lueders said.
The SpaceX crew’s kite, guided by four parachutes, is sprayed on March 8, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
Cory Huston / NASA
This is the first time NASA has certified a human flight system since the start of the space program nearly 40 years ago. This decision was the culmination of 10 years of development and testing funded by NASA’s commercial crew program, which was designed to restore U.S. spaceflight capabilities through commercial partnerships. According to this effort, the government has spent more than $ 6 billion on the Planetary Society. The program can finally reach its goal with the launch on Saturday.
Elon Musk celebrates after SpaceX launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on May 30.
REUTERS / Steve Nesius
“I thank NASA for further supporting SpaceX and the partnership in achieving this goal,” Musk said in a press release. “I couldn’t be more proud of everyone at SpaceX and all of our suppliers who worked hard to develop, test and fly the first NASA certified human spaceflight system in history. It is a great honor that inspires confidence in our efforts to return to the moon, travel to Mars, and ultimately help humanity become a multi-planet. “
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