NASA And SpaceX Join Forces To Send US Astronauts To Space Once Again
Image via Shutterstock
NASA and SpaceX will be launching NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken from the US into space for the first time since the last space shuttle mission in 2011.
The launch for the manned SpaceX Demo-2 flight test from Kennedy Space Center in Florida is expected to take place in May.
However, the agency will also be following protocol from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amid the global coronavirus outbreak, and the launch date might get postponed as a result of the crisis.
Nonetheless, the plan is still set for the astronauts to go onboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft along with a Falcon 9 rocket.
This will be the final phase for system tests before SpaceX receives certification to run operational crew flights to the space station with the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
NASA astronaut Shannon Walker has been assigned to the first operational crewed flight of @SpaceX's Crew Dragon, bound for the @space_station!
— Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 31, 2020
Pending a successful Demo-2 test, Walker, @Astro_illini, @VicGlover and @Astro_Soichi will launch this year. https://t.co/eYUN1Zt6Y0 pic.twitter.com/Fi4hCEZV3W
[via CNN, cover image via Shutterstock]
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