 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Paul Brinkmann Washington DC (UPI) Nov 10, 2020
NASA certified SpaceX's spaceflight system Tuesday to carry astronauts to the International Space Station regularly, clearing the way for a four-person mission there planned for Saturday. Elon Musk's company plans to launch its Crew Dragon capsule, which its four passengers have called Resilience, aloft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This will mark the first time in the history of spaceflight that four people traveled into space in one capsule. The space shuttles typically carried seven-member crews. "We are honored to be the nation's launch provider for crewed missions and take seriously the responsibility that NASA has entrusted to us to carry American astronauts to and from the space station," Benji Reed, SpaceX's senior director of human spaceflight, said at a press conference. Liftoff for the newest crewed mission is planned for 7:49 p.m. EST, barring any interference by the weather. Forecasters are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Eta, which at one point appeared headed across Florida north of the space center. It now is following a more northerly track in the Gulf of Mexico, and is projected to make landfall in Florida's Panhandle early Saturday morning. The launch is to mark the beginning of a six-month mission at the space station for NASA's Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins, and Japan's Soichi Noguchi. This also would start a continuous presence of SpaceX's Dragon capsule -- either cargo or crew models -- at the space station, Reed said. "Over the next 15 months, we will fly seven crew and cargo Dragon missions for NASA," he said. Saturday's launch, called SpaceX Crew-1, marks the second time people will fly in the Dragon capsule and the first regular flight for the spacecraft. The initial crewed mission, considered a test flight, brought NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station for two months. They returned to Earth on Aug. 2. The Dragon now assumes the same role the space shuttle filled for NASA -- to ferry astronauts to the space station. "I'm extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Tuesday. "Thank you to NASA for their continued support of SpaceX and partnership in achieving this goal," SpaceX founder Musk said in a statement Tuesday. "I could not be more proud of everyone at SpaceX and all of our suppliers, who worked incredibly hard to develop, test and fly the first commercial human spaceflight system in history to be certified by NASA." NASA gave a green light for Saturday's mission after concluding the agency's routine Flight Readiness Review. Engineers and technicians for the space agency and SpaceX discussed, among other things, the recent launch abort of a Falcon 9 rocket on an uncrewed mission. Inspections determined that a clogged venting hole in the engines had been blocked by lacquer that a contractor failed to completely remove following construction. NASA postponed the Crew 1 mission partly to evaluate the problem with the clogged valve.
Astronauts arrive in Florida for historic launch Saturday Washington DC (UPI) Nov 08, 2020 Four astronauts arrived in Florida on Sunday afternoon in anticipation of the first launch of four people in a space capsule at week's end. SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, named Resilience, is expected to lift off at 7:49 p.m. Saturday from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The mission is important as the first routine flight of the Dragon to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the agency's Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. That means E ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
