SpaceX and NASA are known for their plans of launching the first crewed mission in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Their mission is scheduled for mid-to-late May, according to a recent statement.
The liftoff will hit the first record of sending the first crewed mission into space since 2011. The takeoff will take place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. SpaceX, as first-time-ever collaboration, will fire the Falcon 9 to deploy Crew Dragon towards the ISS. Onboard the spaceship, NASA will enroll astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. The mission follows a successful uncrewed test liftoff to the ISS a few months back.
SpaceX Crew Dragon Ready to Reach the ISS
NASA unveiled the liftoff window timing in a recent media statement. The announcement reads: “This second demonstration mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft is another end-to-end flight test of SpaceX’s human spaceflight system, which will include launch, docking, splashdown, and recovery operations. It is the final flight test of the system before SpaceX is certified to carry out operational crew flights to and from the space station for NASA.”
SpaceX’s collaboration with NASA for a crew-skilled spaceship is part of the agency’s Commercial Crew project. Both Boeing and SpaceX were required by NASA to develop a spaceship and liftoff system to transport NASA astronauts into space. They had to do that without having to rely on any Russian rockets.
SpaceX succeeded since the start, even if both companies have experienced their delays and share of setbacks. Boeing, for example, had to push back so many significant tests and other tasks that now it decided to step out for a while before it clarifies its situation. Such a thing, however, made NASA direct its attention to SpaceX more. We should expect more details soon, as the launch date approaches.
