SpaceX crew launches into NASA’s Kennedy Space Center as CEO Elon Musk ‘probably’ has coronavirus

SpaceX launched four astronauts on the International Space Station.

It is the first NASA mission to send a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spaceship.

The flight to the space station is approximately 27 and a half hours “door to door” and should be fully automated, although the crew can take over if necessary.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk needs to stay away from launch due to COVID-19.

Vice President Mike Pence traveled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations aboard managed and privately owned capsules.

It also marks the second time in nearly a decade that astronauts have been set up to launch into orbit from the United States.

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The journey to the orbiting laboratory, which is about 400 km above the Earth, was originally supposed to start on Saturday, local time.

But the launch was postponed by a day due to predictions of wind gusts that would make a return landing difficult for the Falcon 9’s reusable booster stage, NASA officials said.

The crew led by Commander Hopkins, an Air Force colonel, includes physicist Shannon Walker and navy commander and first-time astronaut Victor Glover, who will be the first black man to spend an extended period up to six months aboard the space station.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will become the third person to launch into orbit aboard three different types of spacecraft.

They named their capsule Resilience in response to global challenges in 2020, especially the global pandemic.

Vice President Mike Pence attended the launch and said that under President Donald Trump, America has “renewed our commitment to lead human space exploration.”

President-elect Joe Biden tweeted his congratulations, saying the launch was “a testament to the power of science.”

NASA and SpaceX conduct contact tracking following Musk’s tweet

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that he “most likely” has a moderate case of COVID-19, despite conflicting test results.

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NASA’s policy is that anyone who tests positive for the virus must quarantine and remain isolated.

Mr. Musk remained optimistic.

He added that last week he had symptoms of a minor cold, but at the moment he felt “quite normal”.

Representatives of the California-based SpaceX did not answer questions about his location.

SpaceX and NASA conducted the contact tracing and determined that Mr. Musk had not come into contact with anyone who had interacted with the astronauts.

“Our astronauts have been in quarantine for weeks and they shouldn’t have had contact with anyone,” said NASA chief Jim Bridenstine.

“They should be in good shape.”

The launch of three American astronauts and one from Japan – all but one of them former space station residents – comes just three months after a pair of NASA test pilots successfully concluded SpaceX’s first busy flight of a spacecraft. Dragon crew.

AP / ABC