Sina Technology News Beijing time on the afternoon of May 16th, according to foreign media reports, the US space exploration technology company SpaceX will conduct its first manned mission on May 27th, using the manned Dragon spacecraft to send two NASA (NASA) spacecraft. Astronauts into space. The last manned spaceflight from the continental United States was in July 2011, when NASA’s Atlantis space shuttle carried four astronauts from Florida to the International Space Station.
The manned mission, called “Demo-2”, was originally scheduled to launch in 2019, and encountered many setbacks. Now, with the capsule’s safety checks completed, NASA and SpaceX are finally ready to fly. The following is the information related to the manned flight:
How to Watch Demo-2 Live
NASA will provide streaming coverage of pre-launch, launch, and docking activities to the International Space Station through NASA Television.
Pre-launch coverage began on May 27 at 9:15 a.m. PT, earlier than the scheduled launch time (1:33 p.m.). NASA Television will provide continuous coverage from launch to docking. The Crew Dragon spacecraft will arrive at the International Space Station on Thursday, May 28 at 8:29 a.m.
About Demo-2
Demo-2 is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which involves two commercial aerospace companies: SpaceX and Boeing. The two companies will be responsible for building and launching the crew capsule used to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX has a history of launching cargo and payloads, but this launch is the first time the company has sent humans off Earth.
Launch: Scheduled for Wednesday, May 27 at 1:33 p.m. PT, 4:33 p.m. ET.
Launch Location: The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This historic launch pad was used to launch the Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.
The crewed flight is also part of NASA’s push for commercial cooperation. “By encouraging industry to provide human transportation services to and from low Earth orbit, NASA can expand its focus to building spacecraft and rockets for deep space missions,” NASA said.
Spacecraft: The SpaceX Crew Dragon is a crewed version of the Dragon 2 capsule, which was used to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. While the launch scheduled for May 27 will only have two astronauts in space, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon can carry up to seven passengers.
Rocket: It has now been confirmed that SpaceX’s battle-hardened Falcon 9 rocket will escort the Crew Dragon spacecraft to completion. NASA’s iconic “Worm” logo will be affixed to the side of the Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 booster is reusable and will attempt to land a SpaceX drone in the Atlantic Ocean.
Astronauts: NASA designated Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley as astronauts for this manned spaceflight in 2018. Both men have flown space missions on different shuttles, with Hurley on the final mission of the space shuttle Atlantis in 2011. They will wear spacesuits designed in-house by SpaceX.
Making the history of manned flight
NASA sees SpaceX’s Demo-2 mission as the dawn of a “new era of human spaceflight.”
In 2014, NASA awarded commercial crew program contracts to SpaceX and Boeing, with plans to launch astronauts into space in 2017. But delays are common during spacecraft development, and both SpaceX and Boeing have encountered similar problems. Boeing is still grappling with a series of technical issues that arose during the Starliner’s sea trials in late 2019.
However, SpaceX successfully completed its Demo-1 unmanned round-trip flight to the International Space Station in early 2019 and conducted a major flight abort test earlier in the year, setting the stage for the launch of Demo-2. The crewed mission is called Demo-2 because it’s technically still a “rehearsal” and not a full-fledged space mission. Demo-2 marks the last test SpaceX and its Crew Dragon spacecraft will conduct, and Elon Musk’s spaceflight company will also receive final certification of the manned spacecraft.
Demo-2 is also the first time a two-person crew has launched from U.S. soil since the space shuttle Columbia’s fourth space mission in 1982.
Astronauts test for new crown
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley entered pre-flight quarantine on May 13. Pre-launch quarantines were standard procedure before the novel coronavirus pandemic, but NASA has added a few extra steps to the process. “As a precaution against the virus, Hurley and Behnken, as well as those who had direct, close contact with the astronauts, will be tested twice for the virus,” NASA said in a statement in May.
