Crew Dragon – Page 14 – Spaceflight Now

Citing coronavirus, NASA urges public not to travel for launch of astronauts

April 24, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Thursday urged space enthusiasts not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center next month to view the first launch of astronauts from the Florida spaceport since 2011, and asked people to instead watch the launch on television or online.

NASA, SpaceX set May 27 as target date for first crew launch

April 17, 2020 Stephen Clark

Nearly a decade in the making, NASA and SpaceX have set May 27 as the target launch date for the first crewed space mission to launch into orbit from U.S. soil since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.

Bridenstine says Crew Dragon could launch with astronauts at end of May

April 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine says he is “fairly confident” that astronauts can fly to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship at the end of May or early June, pending final parachute tests, data reviews and a training schedule that can escape major impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.

Video: Astronauts participate in Crew Dragon launch day dress rehearsal

April 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, assigned to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft on its first piloted mission into orbit, participated in a dress rehearsal of their suit-up procedures and a trip to launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2020.

Photos: Astronauts train to ride a Dragon into space

April 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, two veteran space shuttle fliers, are gearing up to fly a privately-developed SpaceX Dragon capsule into orbit this year. These photos chronicle their recent training.

Crew training continues for SpaceX’s first launch with astronauts

April 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

During a visit to Cape Canaveral this week, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken strapped in to the SpaceX crew capsule they will ride into orbit as soon as mid-to-late May. Next week, the astronauts will be in Houston to continue training for an extended stay on the International Space Station that could last two-to-three months.

Video: Slidewire basket crew egress system tested at pad 39A

April 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX tested astronaut slidewire escape baskets and fire suppression capabilities Friday at launch pad 39A in Florida, demonstrating systems that would be activated in the event of an emergency before liftoff of a crewed mission.

NASA, JAXA assign two more astronauts to second piloted Crew Dragon flight

March 31, 2020 Stephen Clark

Veteran astronauts Soichi Noguchi and Shannon Walker have been assigned to fly to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s second piloted Crew Dragon mission later this year, joining commander Mike Hopkins and astronaut Victor Glover on a planned six-month expedition in orbit.

NASA, U.S. military reviewing SpaceX engine malfunction

March 25, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA and U.S. military officials are reviewing a malfunction that triggered a premature engine shutdown during a flight of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket earlier this month, a cautionary step before upcoming launches with a GPS navigation satellite and astronauts on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Axiom strikes deal with SpaceX to ferry private astronauts to space station

March 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Axiom Space, a Houston-based company with plans to develop a commercial outpost in space, announced Thursday it has signed a contract with SpaceX to ferry a professional astronaut and three paying passengers to the International Space Station as soon as next year on the first fully private human spaceflight mission to Earth orbit.