SpaceX's 1st astronaut mission! Crew Dragon #DM-2 launch from historic NASA pad @Saturday 3:22pm ET

Saturday (May 30) SpaceX's first crewed mission! NASA, SpaceX to Launch First Astronauts to Space Station from U.S. Since 2011. A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifting off on a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:22 pm ET p.m. EDT May 30, from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, for an extended stay at the space station for the Demo-2 mission. The specific duration of the mission is to be determined.

Next attempt: Saturday (May 30) at 3:22 pm ET

Scrubbed! [Launch window begins at 04:33 pm ET (08:33 pm GMT)]
The next launch attempt is slated for Saturday, May 30, at 3:22 p.m. ET.

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The Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission is intended to finish the validation process for human-rated spaceflight operations on SpaceX spacecraft. If successful, the demonstration flight will allow for human-rated certification of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the Falcon 9 rocket, the crew transportation system, launch pad, and SpaceX's capabilities, etc. The mission includes two astronauts testing of Crew Dragon capabilities on orbit

All docking operations will be autonomously controlled by the Crew Dragon spacecraft but monitored by the flight crew in case manual intervention becomes necessary.

For the first time since the last flight of the Space Shuttle in 2011, U.S. astronauts will go to orbit from American soil.

The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to seven passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and will soon become the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.

The first stage booster will attempt to land on the floating barge ‘Of Course I Still Love You’, in the Atlantic Ocean. Upon returning to Earth, the Crew Dragon capsule will parachute into the Atlantic Ocean.


Courtesy of NASA, SpaceX
NASA.gov
SpaceX.com
Ben Cooper

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3:22pm