NASA and SpaceX Targeting October for Next Astronaut Launch |

NASA and SpaceX Targeting October for Next Astronaut Launch

Nov, 2020 - By WMR

NASA and SpaceX are targeting October 2020 for the first operational flight with astronauts to the ISS as a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

On May 30, NASA and SpaceX launched the Demo-2 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On May 31, the spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:16 a.m. EDT, slightly earlier than the scheduled time of 10:29 a.m. EDT. Demo-2 carried NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station, where they remained for 62 days before returning to Earth safely. On August 2, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule safely returned to Earth at 2:48 pm EDT from the International Space Station, with two NASA astronauts.

The rocket splashed down on the coast of Florida, where capsule and two astronauts repatriated to Cape Canaveral by Go Navigator recovery vessel of the SpaceX. Now, NASA and SpaceX are targeting October 2020 for the first operational flight with astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX Crew-1 will be the first routine mission to the ISS. It will carry Shannon Walker (Mission specialist), Victor Glover (pilot), Michael Hopkins (Crew Dragon commander), and Soichi Noguchi (JAXA’s mission specialist) to the orbiting laboratory for a 6-month science mission.

SpaceX Crew-1 will be launched from the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be the first operational flight for the Crew Dragon. Moreover, it will mark the start of routine flights to and from the International Space Station for the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission is part of NASA's commercial crew program and includes the development of Boeing's Starliner capsules. The Crew-1 mission is pending completion of data review and certification after NASA's SpaceX demo-2 test flight. NASA is enabling economic growth in low-Earth orbit to allow people, more companies, and more science access to space than ever before.