WASHINGTON, May 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first
time in history, NASA astronauts have launched from American soil
in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft on
its way to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon
spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Robert
Behnken and Douglas
Hurley lifted off at 3:22 p.m.
EDT Saturday on the company's Falcon 9 rocket from Launch
Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida.
"Today a new era in human spaceflight begins as we once
again launched American astronauts on American rockets from
American soil on their way to the International Space
Station, our national lab orbiting Earth," said NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "I
thank and congratulate Bob Behnken,
Doug Hurley, and the SpaceX and NASA
teams for this significant achievement for the United States. The launch of this
commercial space system designed for humans is a phenomenal
demonstration of American excellence and is an important step on
our path to expand human exploration to the Moon and Mars."
Known as NASA's SpaceX Demo-2, the mission is an end-to-end test
flight to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including
launch, in-orbit, docking and landing operations. This is SpaceX's
second spaceflight test of its Crew Dragon and its first test with
astronauts aboard, which will pave the way for its certification
for regular crew flights to the station as part of NASA's
Commercial Crew Program.
"This is a dream come true for me and everyone at SpaceX," said
Elon Musk, chief engineer at SpaceX.
"It is the culmination of an incredible amount of work by the
SpaceX team, by NASA and by a number of other partners in the
process of making this happen. You can look at this as the results
of a hundred thousand people roughly when you add up all the
suppliers and everyone working incredibly hard to make this day
happen."
The program demonstrates NASA's commitment to investing in
commercial companies through public-private partnerships and builds
on the success of American companies, including SpaceX, already
delivering cargo to the space station.
"It's difficult to put into words how proud I am of the people
who got us here today," said Kathy
Lueders, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager. "When I
think about all of the challenges overcome – from design and
testing, to paper reviews, to working from home during a pandemic
and balancing family demands with this critical mission – I am
simply amazed at what the NASA and SpaceX teams have accomplished
together. This is just the beginning; I will be watching with great
anticipation as Bob and Doug get ready to dock to the space station
tomorrow, and through every phase of this historic mission."
SpaceX controlled the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from
Kennedy's Launch Control Center Firing Room 4, the former space
shuttle control room, which SpaceX has leased as its primary launch
control center. As Crew Dragon ascended into space, SpaceX
commanded the spacecraft from its mission control center in
Hawthorne, California. NASA teams
are monitoring space station operations throughout the flight from
Mission Control Center at the agency's Johnson Space Center in
Houston.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock to the
space station at 10:29 a.m. Sunday,
May 31. NASA Television and the agency's website are providing
ongoing live coverage of the Crew Dragon's trip to the orbiting
laboratory. Behnken and Hurley will work with SpaceX mission
control to verify the spacecraft is performing as intended by
testing the environmental control system, the displays and control
system, and by maneuvering the thrusters, among other things. The
first docking maneuver began Saturday, May
30, at 4:09 p.m., and the
spacecraft will begin its close approach to the station at about
8:27 a.m. Sunday, May 31. Crew Dragon
is designed to dock autonomously, but the crews onboard the
spacecraft and the space station will diligently monitor the
performance of the spacecraft as it approaches and docks to the
forward port of the station's Harmony module.
After successfully docking, the crew will be welcomed aboard the
International Space Station, where they will become members of the
Expedition 63 crew, which currently includes NASA astronaut
Chris Cassidy. NASA will continue
live coverage through hatch opening and the crew welcoming
ceremony. The crew will perform tests on Crew Dragon in addition to
conducting research and other tasks with the space station
crew.
Three astronauts aboard the International Space Station will
participate in a live NASA Television crew news conference from
orbit on Monday, June 1, beginning at
11:15 a.m. on NASA TV and the
agency's website.
Demo-2 Astronauts
Behnken is the joint operations
commander for the mission, responsible for activities such as
rendezvous, docking and undocking, as well as Demo-2 activities
while the spacecraft is docked to the space station. He was
selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 and has completed two space
shuttle flights. Behnken flew STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010, performing three spacewalks during
each mission. Born in St. Anne, Missouri, he has bachelor's degrees in physics
and mechanical engineering from Washington
University in St. Louis and
earned a master's and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the
California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena. Before joining NASA, he
was a flight test engineer with the U.S. Air Force.
Hurley is the spacecraft commander for Demo-2, responsible for
activities such as launch, landing and recovery. He was selected as
an astronaut in 2000 and has completed two spaceflights. Hurley
served as pilot and lead robotics operator for both STS‐127 in
July 2009 and STS‐135, the final
space shuttle mission, in July 2011.
The New York native was born in
Endicott but considers Apalachin his hometown. He holds a Bachelor
of Science degree in civil engineering from Tulane University in New
Orleans and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School
in Patuxent River, Maryland.
Before joining NASA, he was a fighter pilot and test pilot in the
U.S. Marine Corps.
Mission Objectives
The Demo-2 mission is the final
major test before NASA's Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew
Dragon for operational, long-duration missions to the space
station. As SpaceX's final flight test, it will validate all
aspects of its crew transportation system, including the Crew
Dragon spacecraft, spacesuits, Falcon 9 launch vehicle, launch pad
39A and operations capabilities.
While en route to the station, Behnken and Hurley will take
control of Crew Dragon for two manual flight tests, demonstrating
their ability to control the spacecraft should an issue with the
spacecraft's automated flight arise. On Saturday, May 30, while the spacecraft is
coasting, the crew will test its roll, pitch and yaw. When Crew
Dragon is about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) below the station and
moving around to the docking axis, the crew will conduct manual
in-orbit demonstrations of the control system in the event it were
needed. After pausing, rendezvous will resume and mission managers
will make a final decision about whether to proceed to docking as
Crew Dragon approaches 20 meters (66 feet).
For operational missions, Crew Dragon will be able to launch as
many as four crew members at a time and carry more than 220 pounds
of cargo, allowing for an increased number crew members aboard the
space station and increasing the time dedicated to research in the
unique microgravity environment, as well as returning more science
back to Earth.
The Crew Dragon being used for this flight test can stay in
orbit about 110 days, and the specific mission duration will be
determined once on station based on the readiness of the next
commercial crew launch. The operational Crew Dragon spacecraft will
be capable of staying in orbit for at least 210 days as a NASA
requirement.
At the conclusion of the mission, Behnken and Hurley will board
Crew Dragon, which will then autonomously undock, depart the space
station, and re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Upon splashdown off
Florida's Atlantic coast, the crew
will be picked up by the SpaceX recovery ship and returned to the
dock at Cape Canaveral.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program is working with SpaceX and Boeing
to design, build, test and operate safe, reliable and
cost-effective human transportation systems to low-Earth orbit.
Both companies are focused on test missions, including abort system
demonstrations and crew flight tests, ahead of regularly flying
crew missions to the space station. Both companies' crewed flights
will be the first times in history NASA has sent astronauts to
space on systems owned, built, tested and operated by private
companies.
Learn more about NASA's Commercial Crew program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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SOURCE NASA