Kennedy Space Center – Page 16

Crew Dragon capsule meets Falcon 9 rocket inside launch pad hangar

May 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX transferred the first astronaut-ready Crew Dragon spacecraft Friday night from a fueling facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where teams will join the capsule with its Falcon 9 launcher for liftoff later this month.

Dragon crew begins augmented version of NASA’s standard pre-launch quarantine

May 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA has added extra safeguards to the agency’s standard pre-launch quarantine protocol to protect astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from the coronavirus and other contagions in the final two weeks before their scheduled May 27 launch on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Dragon solar array concerns driving duration of first crewed test flight

May 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be geared up for the long haul when they launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft later this month, but they won’t know exactly how long they will be in orbit until they are already aboard the International Space Station.

Launch preparations continue for NASA’s next Mars rover

May 9, 2020 Stephen Clark

On track for launch from Cape Canaveral in July, NASA’s Perseverance rover has been secured to its rocket-powered descent stage and back shell, part of the protective shield that will safeguard the robot when it arrives at Mars next year.

Video: Demo-2 crew training reel

May 8, 2020 Stephen Clark

This video reel offers insights into the training of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley for their launch on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Dragon astronauts wrap up training, prepare to enter quarantine

May 8, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley completed their final training sessions in Houston this week before their scheduled May 27 liftoff on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center, the first launch of humans from the Florida spaceport since 2011.

SpaceX aces last Dragon parachute test before crew launch

May 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX completed Friday the last drop test of the Dragon crew capsule’s parachutes before the first launch of astronauts on the human-rated ship May 27, while technicians at Cape Canaveral have mated the spacecraft’s crew module with its unpressurized trunk section.

Falcon Heavy set for design validation milestone before late 2020 launch

April 27, 2020 Stephen Clark

The U.S. Space Force expects to complete design validation on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket by July, ahead of the launch of the military’s first high-priority national security mission on the heavy-lifter late this year.

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.

SpaceX’s Starlink network surpasses 400-satellite mark after successful launch

April 22, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched 60 more spacecraft Wednesday to join the Starlink fleet beaming broadband signals around the world, while the company’s engineers move closer to debuting a sunshade that could reduce the satellites’ impacts on ground-based astronomy.