NASA, SpaceX Launch First Flight Test of Space System Designed for Crew

For the first time in history, a commercially-built and operated American crew spacecraft and rocket, which launched from American soil, is on its way to theย International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 2:49 a.m. EST Saturday on the companyโ€™s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASAโ€™s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

โ€œTodayโ€™s successful launch marks a new chapter in American excellence, getting us closer to once again flying American astronauts on American rockets from American soil,โ€ said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.ย โ€œI proudly congratulate the SpaceX and NASA teams for this major milestone in our nationโ€™s space history. This first launch of a space system designed for humans, and built and operated by a commercial company through a public-private partnership, is a revolutionary step on our path to get humans to the Moon, Mars and beyond.โ€

Known as Demo-1, SpaceXโ€™s inaugural flight with NASAโ€™sย Commercial Crew Programย is an important uncrewed mission designed to test the end-to-end capabilities of the new system. It brings the nation one-step closer to the return of human launches to the space station from the United States for the first time since 2011 โ€“ the last space shuttle mission. Teams still have work to do after this flight to prepare the spacecraft to fly astronauts. The best way to advance the system design was to fly this spacecraft and uncover any other areas or integrated flight changes that might be required.

The program demonstrates NASAโ€™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. Demo-1 is a critical step for NASA and SpaceX to demonstrate the ability to safely fly missions with NASA astronauts to the orbital laboratory.

โ€œFirst a note of appreciation to the SpaceXย team. It has been 17 years to get to this point, 2002 to now, and an incredible amount of hard work and sacrifice from a lot of people that got us to this point…Iโ€™d also like to express great appreciation for NASA,โ€ said Elon Musk, CEO and lead designer at SpaceX. โ€œSpaceX would not be here without NASA, without the incredible work that was done before SpaceX even started and without the support after SpaceX did start.โ€

The public-private partnership combines commercial companiesโ€™ unique, innovative approaches to human spaceflight and NASAโ€™s decades-long experience in design, development and operations of a crew space system.

โ€œWe are watching history being made with the launch of the SpaceX Demo-1 mission,โ€ said Steve Stich, launch manager and deputy manager of NASAโ€™s Commercial Crew Program. โ€œSpaceX and NASA teams have been working together for years, and now we are side-by-side in control rooms across the country for launch, in-orbit operations and, eventually, splashdown of the Crew Dragon right here off Floridaโ€™s coast.โ€

SpaceX controlled the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedyโ€™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 Crew Dragon spacecraft from its mission control center in Hawthorne, California. NASA teams will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from Mission Control Center at the agencyโ€™s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is on its way to the space station for a 6:05 a.m. Sunday, March 3 docking to the low-Earth orbit destination. Live coverage of the rendezvous and docking will air on NASA Television and the agencyโ€™sย websiteย beginning at 3:30 a.m. Coverage will resume at 8:30 a.m. with the hatch opening, followed at 10:45 a.m. with a crew welcoming ceremony.

Teams in the space station mission center atย Johnson will monitor station crew membersโ€™ opening of the spacecraft hatch, entering Crew Dragon and unpacking the capsule.

Mission Objectivesย 

All the launch pad and vehicle hardware, and the launch day operations, were conducted in preparation for the next flight with crew aboard, including the control teams and ground crews. The mission and testing continues once the Falcon 9 lifts off the pad.

During the spacecraftโ€™s approach, in-orbit demonstrations will include rendezvous activities from a distance of up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers), known as far field, and activities within one mile (1.6 kilometers), known as near field. As the spacecraft approaches the space station, it will demonstrate its automated control and maneuvering capabilities by reversing course and backing away from the station before the final docking sequence.

The docking phase, as well as the return and recovery of Crew Dragon, include many first-time events that cannot be totally modeled on the ground and, thus, are critical to understanding the design and systems ability to support crew flights. Previous cargo Dragon vehicles have been attached to the space station after capture by the stationโ€™s robotic arm. The Crew Dragon will approach to dock using new sensor systems, new propulsion systems and the new international docking mechanism to attach to the stationโ€™s Harmony module forward port, fitted with a new international docking adapter.ย Astronauts installed the adapterย during aย spacewalkย in August 2016, following its delivery to the station in the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on its ninth commercial resupply services mission.

For Demo-1, Crew Dragon is carrying more than 400 pounds of crew supplies and equipment to the space station and will return some critical research samples to Earth.ย A lifelikeย test device named Ripley also will travel on the Crew Dragon, outfitted with sensors to provide data on potential effects on humans traveling in Crew Dragon.

For operational missions, Crew Dragon will be able to launch as many as four crew members and carry more than 220 pounds of cargo, enabling the expansion of the crew members, increasing the time dedicated toย researchย in the unique microgravity environment, and returning more science back to Earth.

The Crew Dragon is designed to stay docked to station for up to 210 days, although the Crew Dragon used for this flight test will not have that capability. This spacecraft will remain docked to the space station only five days, departing Friday, March 8. After undocking from the station, Crew Dragon will begin its descent to Earth. Live coverage of the undocking will air on NASA Television and the agencyโ€™sย websiteย beginning at 2 a.m., with deorbit and landing coverage resuming at 7:30 a.m.

Additional spacecraft mission objectives include a safe departure from the station, followed by a deorbit burn and parachute deployment to slow the spacecraft before splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Florida Space Coast. SpaceXโ€™s recovery ship, Go Searcher, will retrieve Crew Dragon and transport it back to port. Teams will be closely monitoring the parachute system and entry control system operation, which have been changed from cargo Dragons to provide higher reliability for crew flights.

NASA and SpaceX will use data from Demo-1, along with planned upgrades and additional qualification testing, to further prepare for Demo-2, the crewed flight test that will carry NASA astronautsย Bob Behnkenย andย Doug Hurleyย to the International Space Station. NASA will validate the performance of SpaceXโ€™s systems before putting crew on board for the Demo-2 flight, currently targeted for July.

NASAโ€™s Commercial Crew Program is working with Boeing and SpaceX 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.ย Both companiesโ€™ 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 NASAโ€™s Commercial Crew program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-spacex-launch-first-flight-test-of-space-system-designed-for-crew

 

Source: NASA/ SpaceX

 

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