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SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station with the first real taxi flight to NASA by a private company.
The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with three Americans and a Japanese on board, the second crew launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably Covid-19 – is expected to reach the space station after 27 and a half hours and 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 “most likely” he had a moderate case of Covid-19. NASA policy at the Kennedy Space Center requires that anyone testing positive for the coronavirus must quarantine and remain isolated.
Sunday’s launch comes a few months after a test flight with two SpaceX pilots and kicks off what NASA hopes will be a long series of crew rotations between the US and the space station, after years of delay. More people means more scientific research in the orbiting lab, officials 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 should be fully automated, although the crew can take over if necessary.
Four hours after take-off, NASA announced that it was investigating “a problem with the propellant heaters and was continuing to collect data.” Half an hour later, NASA tweeted: “Teams are solving problems with propellant heaters that heat the fuel aboard Crew Dragon. The temperatures remain stable and the crew remains safe. “
The role of propellant heaters is to keep fuel above 60F, according to CBS space journalist William Harwood.
About five hours after take-off, the problem was resolved, as well as a problem with the thermal control system, which was running slightly too cold.
With Covid-19 still growing, NASA continued the safety precautions put in place for the launch of the SpaceX crew in May. The astronauts entered quarantine with their families in October. All launch personnel wore masks and the number of guests at the Kennedy was limited. The two astronauts from the first flight of the SpaceX crew also remained 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 feared that a weekend takeoff, coupled with a dramatic night launch, could lead to a super broadcast event and urged crowds to wear masks and keep safe distances. Similar appeals for SpaceX’s first crew launch on May 30 went unheard.
The crew – made up of three men and one woman, led by Commander Mike Hopkins, an Air Force colonel – named their Resilience capsule in a nod to not only the pandemic, but also racial injustice and controversial politics. It’s as diverse as the space crews, with physicist Shannon Walker, as well as Navy Commander Victor Glover, the first black astronaut on a long-term mission to the space station, and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi, who became the first person in nearly 40 years of doing it. launch on three types of spacecraft.
They went to the launch pad in Teslas after exchanging high fives and hugs with their children and spouses, who huddled in the open car windows. Musk was replaced by SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell in saying goodbye to the astronauts.
The dragon capsule is quite spacious: it can carry up to seven people. Previous space capsules were launched with no more than three. The extra room in the capsule was used for science experiments and supplies.
The four astronauts will join two Russians and one American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan.
The first stage booster – which landed on an ocean platform several minutes after takeoff – is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch, scheduled for late March. This would allow the newly launched astronauts to return to Earth in April. SpaceX plans to launch another crew several months later.
SpaceX and NASA wanted the booster to recover so badly that they delayed the launch attempt by one day, to give the floating platform time to reach its position in the Atlantic over the weekend following rough seas.
With the Associated Press
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