NASA and SpaceX has officially marked May 27 to send the astronauts aboard an American rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) in for the first time in nearly a decade.
The space agency announced Friday that astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will board the Crew Dragon capsule and lift off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
The ISS has been accessible to astronauts only through the purchase of seats on Russian capsules launched from Kazakhstan and this will be the first time NASA has launched its own crew since 2011.
The launch is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which has partnered with the American aerospace industry to bring spaceflight back to US soil.
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NASA and SpaceX has officially marked May 27 to send the astronauts aboard an American rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in nearly a decade
As with most high-profile missions, the new date could slip, but it seems NASA and SpaceX are determined to carry out the launch.
'The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station, which will allow for additional research time and will increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity's testbed for exploration,' explained NASA last month.
NASA and SpaceX has officially marked May 27 to send the astronauts aboard an American rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in nearly a decade
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The agency is mulling whether to extend Behnken and Hurley's stay aboard the space station from a week as originally planned to up to six months in order to ensure US astronauts are staffed on the station continuously.
May's mission is the final test for Crew Dragon before regularly flying humans for NASA under its Commercial Crew Program, a public-private initiative.
The space agency announced Friday that astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley (right) will board the Crew Dragon capsule and liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center
Friday’s announcement comes weeks after SpaceX's president and COO Gwynne Shotwell revealed the California company is 'gunning for May' to fly astronauts aboard its Crew Dragon to the International Space Station.
Shotwell noted that NASA astronauts set to take the craft are currently in training and should be ready to go in two months.
The Commercial Crew Program will not position SpaceX as a front runner for space travel.
The ISS (pictured) has been accessible to astronauts only through the purchase of seats on Russian capsules launched from Kazakhstan and this will be the first time NASA has launched its own crew since 2011
After Crew Dragon's demonstration mission with crew is complete, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins will be the first two NASA astronauts to launch aboard Crew Dragon to the International Space Station (ISS) for a long-duration mission.
The capsule has gone through ups and downs throughout the past several years.
In April last year, an explosion engulfed the empty capsule in fire and smoke.
The incident was set off by a leaking component and completely destroyed the capsule - a glitch that has contributed to SpaceX's delayed timeline for Crew Dragon.
The space agency announced Friday that astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley (right) will board the Crew Dragon capsule and liftoff from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center
The ISS (pictured) has been accessible to astronauts only through the purchase of seats on Russian capsules launched from Kazakhstan and this will be the first time NASA has launched its own crew since 2011
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