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Discover the future drivers of Crew Dragon, the reusable vehicle developed by SpaceX through a partnership with NASA.
NASA's four astronauts – Victor Glover, Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley, and Mike Hopkins – spoke with NASA's Jim Bridenstine, the founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk before the start of Demo-1, the six-day test flight that marked the first incursion of Crew Dragon into space.
The spacecraft did not carry live passengers when it was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on March 2 – but a mannequin loaded with instruments named Ripley traveled on board.
An image of a video filmed in anticipation of Demo-1, the first test flight of the Dragon Crew capsule developed by SpaceX through a partnership with NASA. From left to right: Elon Musk, NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, NASA astronaut Victor Glover, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and NASA astronaut Bob Behnken.
(Image: © NASA)
The six people featured in the video were on the astronaut's bridge – the hall connecting the tower and the Crew Dragon spacecraft – to the 39A launch complex. It is the historic platform of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida that served as a starting point for all Apollo lunar missions.
US astronauts have not been in orbit since US grounding since the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis in July 2011 on the last shuttle mission. But that could change soon: this summer, Crew Dragon must make a crew flight to the ISS. The first operational flight will follow soon after, if everything goes as planned.
The 20-minute video begins with Bridenstine asking Musk to explain why SpaceX is continuing its ambitious work. Musk responds that he wants to see the human species become interplanetary before dying.
One of the highlights of the video is to hear each of the four NASA astronauts who will fly with Crew Dragon when it takes off with humans for the first time.
A salvage ship fires SpaceX's first Spacerew CX capsule from the Atlantic Ocean after the spacecraft attack on March 8, 2019.
(Image: © NASA)
Bridenstine asks each astronaut where they were in 2001, when Musk's thought for SpaceX began to materialize.
"I was learning to fly jets, and I actually had my [naval aviator] wings that year, "replies Victor Glover.
That same year, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley were classmates as astronaut candidates, "learning the craft," as Hurley says.
Alberta, Canada, was once home to Mike Hopkins, where he worked with the test jets of the Canadian Flight Test Center.
When asked what the objective of the crew was to watch Demo-1, Hurley said, "We are really trying to make sure that every element of the system is put to the test.
"We just want teams to work up to launch, then we have to have the vehicle go into orbit, then we go to an appointment, and then we try to … actually see the mooring. [at the space station]Hurley adds, "The other astronauts and he wants to see" how all the teams work together and make this mission a success, and that goes into check, "said Hurley.
Demo-1 finished its run about a week ago on March 8, when Crew Dragon crashed gently into the Atlantic Ocean.
NASA entered into two major commercial crew agreements in 2014. As a result, SpaceX received $ 2.6 billion to develop Crew Dragon, and another US aerospace company, Boeing, has received $ 4.2 billion. CST-100 Starliner capsule.
Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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