NASA is launching its first manned mission after a decade. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will travel to the International Space Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. This mission is also the final test for SpaceX before NASA begins to use the spacecraft for future missions. Gizmodo has the details:
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Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event will not be open to the public, and access to nearby viewing sites could also be curtailed if Florida officials extend the state’s currently stay-at-home order. As a precaution, NASA told Business Insider earlier this month that it was “limiting contact with crew members” ahead of the launch in addition to other routine health safeguards, which includes a two-week quarantine. As for how long they’ll be up there, the agency is still mulling that over.
Since shuttering its Space Shuttle program in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia’s space program to ferry American astronauts to the station—a space taxi service that’s cost roughly $3.4 billion over the last nine years. Upon the success of next month’s mission, NASA will transition to relying on SpaceX’s spacecraft to do the job as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
image via Gizmodo
Source: neatorama