Saturday, January 26, 2019

SpaceX Update: Crew Dragon Moves One Step Closer to Launching on Its Maiden Flight Next Month (Hopefully)...

The Falcon 9 booster carrying SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule stands tall on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX

Last Thursday, SpaceX successfully conducted the static test-fire of the Falcon 9 booster that will launch Crew Dragon on its maiden flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The engine test took place at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida...paving the way for Crew Dragon to lift off on an unmanned mission to the ISS next month. SpaceX is currently aiming for February 23 to launch Crew Dragon on Demonstration-1—even though this date is very uncertain as another U.S. government shutdown could begin on February 16. The previous one, the longest government closure in U.S. history, ended yesterday.

It remains to be seen what will happen next month...but one thing is certain: On its end, SpaceX is ready to fly its human-rated orbital vehicle that will hopefully begin sending astronauts to the ISS sometime later this year. Stay tuned.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule is ready to be rolled out to the pad from its Horizontal Integration Facility at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A.
SpaceX

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule as seen from inside the Crew Access Arm at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A.
SpaceX

Astronauts heading to the International Space Station will hopefully walk through the Crew Access Arm into SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule sometime this year.
SpaceX

Posted by Richard Par at 9:37 AM
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