NASA, SpaceX Crew-1 launch: what you need to know about the historic mission

Despite a global pandemic, a recording hurricane season and having to swap problematic rocket engines, NASA and SpaceX remain committed to getting the historic Crew-1 mission off the ground from Florida on Saturday. The flight of four astronauts to the International Space Station in a Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket follows the success of the Demo-2 mission and its historic splashdown and define some key stages of spaceflight.

Here are the answers to your most pressing questions about the mission.

Wait, what was that for the engines?

The targeted launch date for Crew-1 was pushed back from late October after NASA and SpaceX noticed unexpected behavior from a few Falcon 9 engines that were to be used for an unrelated mission. launch military GPS satellite. This mission was cleared with only two seconds remaining on the countdown and a investigation later revealed a stray piece of lacquer had clogged a tiny wastegate line. The blockage caused two of the rocket’s engines to try to fire early, potentially damaging the engines if the takeoff had not been automatically interrupted.

SpaceX found that the rocket engines to be used for Crew-1 had “the same tendencies”. The launch date has been moved to November, the engines have been replaced and now NASA and SpaceX are both happy that it’s time to go.

OK, so why is Crew-1 such a big deal?

Crew-1 is part of the culmination of NASA’s Commercial Crew program that has been in the works for years. For decades, NASA has typically developed its own rockets and spacecraft in-house with the help of contractors, but the Commercial Crew program works more like chartering a flight. Companies like SpaceX and Boeing have vehicles designed for use by other customers, and NASA can hitchhike there.

It is also an important step to bring space flights back to American soil. From the end of the space shuttle program in 2011 until the Demo-2 mission that sent two NASA astronauts to the ISS aboard a Crew Dragon earlier this year, NASA relied on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport its astronauts into orbit.

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Demo-2 was considered a successful Crew Dragon demonstration, and NASA considers Crew-1 the first official crew rotation mission from US shores since the shuttle’s withdrawal.

“It’s exciting, especially with Crew-1 being the first time we’ve put four people in a space capsule, as humans it’s pretty cool,” said Anthony Vareha of NASA, senior flight director. of the mission. “It is also the longest mission ever carried out by a crewed American capsule.”

Who flies in the Crew Dragon?

For the historic flight, NASA Dragon Crew Commander Michael Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Shannon Walker, joined by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, at the space station.

Until now, three people in a Soyuz capsule has equated to a cramped ride, but Crew Dragon can accommodate up to seven (for comparison, the space shuttle has flown crews of up to eight), this which makes the journey of these four astronauts relatively spacious.

How long is the trip?

Crew-1 members embark on a six-month science mission, which is exciting for those involved in the world of orbital and space science, as four crew members making the trip means more hands available on the station to do more experiments in microgravity. .

“It will be exciting to see all the work we can do while we’re at it,” Hopkins said Monday.

But first, of course, the astronauts will have to get there. The trip to the ISS takes about eight and a half hours from launch on Saturday evening to docking at the station early Sunday morning.

How to look?

Here. NASA and SpaceX will broadcast the launch, currently slated for 4:49 p.m. PT (7:49 p.m. ET) Saturday, November 14, from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A.

NASA TV will air the launch and dock on Sunday, and you can watch it all with the link below.