It's Official: SpaceX Is a 'Go' To Launch NASA Astronauts On Crew Dragon Spaceship (space.com) 20
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Space.com: No showstoppers were found during a crucial flight readiness review (FRR) for SpaceX's Demo-2 mission, keeping the company's first-ever crewed flight on track for a May 27 liftoff, NASA officials announced today (May 22). "The Flight Readiness Review has concluded, and NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission is cleared to proceed toward liftoff on the first crewed flight of the agency's Commercial Crew Program," NASA officials wrote in an update today. Demo-2 will send NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The mission will be the first orbital human spaceflight to depart from American soil since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in July 2011. Ever since then, the space agency has relied completely on Russian Soyuz rockets and spacecraft to get its astronauts to and from the orbiting lab.
The FRR began yesterday (May 21) at KSC and stretched into this afternoon. During the meeting, NASA, ISS and SpaceX managers discussed in detail "the readiness of the Crew Dragon and systems for the Demo-2 mission; the readiness of the International Space Station Program and its international partners to support the flight; and the certification of flight readiness," NASA officials wrote in an update yesterday. And everything went very well, NASA officials said. "It was an excellent review," NASA associate administrator Steve Jurczyk said during a teleconference with reporters today. "There are no significant open issues, I am happy to report." There are still some boxes to tick before Demo-2 can get off the ground. "For example, this afternoon, SpaceX will conduct a 'static fire' of the Falcon 9 that will launch the mission, testing out its first-stage engines while the rocket remains tethered to the ground," reports Space.com. "And tomorrow (May 23), the teams will hold a 'dry dress' exercise, during which Behnken and Hurley will suit up and the teams will run through many of the procedures that will occur on launch day."
"Data from these two tests, as well as other information, will then be analyzed in detail on Monday (May 25) during a final launch readiness review."
The FRR began yesterday (May 21) at KSC and stretched into this afternoon. During the meeting, NASA, ISS and SpaceX managers discussed in detail "the readiness of the Crew Dragon and systems for the Demo-2 mission; the readiness of the International Space Station Program and its international partners to support the flight; and the certification of flight readiness," NASA officials wrote in an update yesterday. And everything went very well, NASA officials said. "It was an excellent review," NASA associate administrator Steve Jurczyk said during a teleconference with reporters today. "There are no significant open issues, I am happy to report." There are still some boxes to tick before Demo-2 can get off the ground. "For example, this afternoon, SpaceX will conduct a 'static fire' of the Falcon 9 that will launch the mission, testing out its first-stage engines while the rocket remains tethered to the ground," reports Space.com. "And tomorrow (May 23), the teams will hold a 'dry dress' exercise, during which Behnken and Hurley will suit up and the teams will run through many of the procedures that will occur on launch day."
"Data from these two tests, as well as other information, will then be analyzed in detail on Monday (May 25) during a final launch readiness review."
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Re: Resting on the shoulders of the Master Race... (Score:1)
Kinda hilarious that, 5 hours after posting, there are only 7 comments, but enough peoplegot together to mod you down to -1.
Yeah NASA has fucked up plenty when it comes to manned space flight. If they're the final arbiter of safety, then we are in a lot of trouble.
Re: Resting on the shoulders of the Master Race.. (Score:2)
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Seriously? Any fatalities that I know of were strictly the result of allowing the herd of lawyers in Congress manage an engineering program.
Apollo 1 was a definite NASA screw up, but only provoked by the politicians having carved "before this decade is out" into stone. Challenger was a political decision to launch, the technicians were against it. Colombia was designed with the intent of being retired after ten years for an upgraded shuttle, instead Congress insisted they keep flying it for 23 years, whe
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Apollo 1 was a definite NASA screw up, but only provoked by the politicians having carved "before this decade is out" into stone.
It's good to have a firm goal. NASA this century shows how little progress it makes otherwise. But Apollo 1 was not the fault of time pressure - it's was pure recklessness. IMO, it was manslaughter.
NASA knew full well the danger. They knew about the Russian fire 6 years earlier. There wasn't a need for a pure oxy atmosphere at above 1 bar in the first place. The contractor who built the capsule told them it wasn't safe in a high pressure oxy atmosphere (it was designed for a low pressure oxy atmosphere,
Bob and Doug are going to Take Off ? (Score:2)
Re: Bob and Doug are going to Take Off ? (Score:2)
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Thank you Boeing (Score:3)
Bullshit (Score:1)
The actual "go" is a somewhere between a few minutes and seconds before (and for some equipment after) the ignition.
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You would prefer the more technically correct headline "It's Official: SpaceX Is Not a 'No-Go' To Launch NASA Astronauts On Crew Dragon Spaceship"?
Just wait for it ... (Score:1)
It will be too bad when NASA and these guys find out what a fraud Elon Musk is. I have it right here at /. how everything he does is phony and he isn't an engineer anyway.
And I am sure we will get more proof -- proof I tell you! -- of that right here in this thread.
I said lunch! (Score:1)