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Astronauts who will orbit SpaceX’s newest Dragon spacecraft later this month said on Thursday that they named their spacecraft “Endurance” after the human spirit and a historic sailboat used by the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.
The new spacecraft, previously known as serial number “Capsule 210”, is scheduled to launch on October 30 with three NASA astronauts and a European Space Agency aviator heading to the International Space Station.
“We can stop calling it Capsule 210,” said Raja Chari, mission commander. “The crew found the name of the vehicle, which is ‘Endurance’.”
Chari, a US Air Force colonel, said the name “speaks to us on many levels.”
“First of all, it’s just a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit as we push humans and machines further than ever before, going both to stay in extended stays for low earth orbit, opening it up to private companies and private astronauts, and knowing that we will continue our exploration to go even further, ”Chari said Thursday at a pre-flight press conference.
He added that the name also honors the SpaceX and NASA teams who built the spacecraft and trained the astronauts who will pilot it. These workers have endured a pandemic, Chari said.
SpaceX’s first two Dragon spacecraft were named Endeavor and Resilience by the astronauts who first flew them. Each private Crew Dragon spacecraft is certified for at least five space missions and can stay docked with the space station for up to 210 days.
“One of the really cool things about the SpaceX Dragon is that we’ll be the first to use Endurance, but it won’t be the last time it’s used,” Chari said. “It will be used multiple times by many missions and will continue to support long duration spaceflight. “
The name also honors the ship used by Shackleton’s Imperial Transantarctic Expedition. The three-master sank in 1915 after being stranded in the ice before reaching Antarctica.
“I was a huge fan of reading about Shackleton’s Voyage,” said Tom Marshburn, the pilot of the upcoming Crew Dragon mission. “It says a lot about exploration too, even if they didn’t hit their target. And we certainly want to achieve our goals.
“Nonetheless, the crew returned to good health,” said Marshburn. “It was a wonderful example of leadership, and the word itself… We as a nation, as a space nation, or any space nation, and the individuals who are involved, have to show leadership. endurance.”
The Crew-3 mission scheduled for takeoff on October 30 is the fifth crew flight on a SpaceX spacecraft and the third operational crew rotation flight under contract with NASA.
Chari, a first-time space pilot and Air Force fighter pilot, commands the mission. Marshburn is expected to launch on this third space trip, after previous launches on a Russian space shuttle and Soyuz capsule.
NASA rookie astronaut Kayla Barron and European Space Agency mission specialist Matthias Maurer, who is also making his maiden space trip, complete the four-person crew.
Their mission is scheduled to take off on October 30 at 2:43 a.m. EDT (0643 GMT) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Assuming a timely launch, their Crew Dragon capsule will slide to an automated docking at the International Space Station in early October 31, starting a six-month expedition to the complex.
Chari and his teammates will replace the four-person Crew-2 astronaut team, which arrived at the space station in April. They are expected to return to Earth in early November aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft, targeting a parachute-assisted ditching off the coast of Florida.
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