NASA targeting Halloween for next SpaceX Crew Dragon astronaut launch – CBS News

NASA now plans to open four astronauts to the Global Blueprint Achieve aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on October 31, a Halloween flight that will tag the most important operational use of the capsule following a worthwhile piloted take a look at flight earlier this summer season.

The plot agency initially centered October 23 for the “Crew 1” mission, unbiased real 9 days after the October 14 open of two cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and two days after NASA flier Chris Cassidy and two cosmonaut crewmates return to Earth on October 21 aboard every other Soyuz.

By delaying the Crew Dragon flight to October 31, the plot crew and flight controllers within the U.S., Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan will catch a probability to rob their collective breath while allowing overtime to resolve any birth points.

“The brand new target date will deconflict the Crew-1 open and arrival from upcoming Soyuz open and touchdown operations,” NASA said in a weblog put up. “This overtime is principal to make obvious that closure of all birth work, both on the flooring and aboard the plot, forward of the Crew-1 arrival.”

Crew 1 commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Jap astronaut Soichi Noguchi now plan to blast off from ancient pad 39A at the Kennedy Blueprint Center atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2: 40 a.m. on October 31.

Docking at the plot plot is anticipated around 5 a.m. on November 1. They’ll be welcomed aboard by Rubins and her two crewmates, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. Whether or not they might perchance additionally welcome their new crewmates aboard with any Halloween treats is no longer yet known.

NASA helped fund development of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule to stay the agency’s sole reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for ferry flights to and from the plot plot.

Since 2006, NASA has spent some $4 billion buying Soyuz seats for plot-certain NASA astronauts. With Rubins taking NASA’s last right this moment contracted seat, the agency is reckoning on SpaceX and Boeing to abet the plot entirely staffed for the remainder of its operational existence.

SpaceX, below an preliminary $2.6 billion contract, designed a crewed version of its Dragon cargo ship that will perchance perchance walk into orbit atop the corporate’s Falcon 9 rocket. Boeing designed its occupy capsule below a $4.2 billion contract, counting on United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets for the shuttle to orbit.

SpaceX efficiently implemented two required take a look at flights of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, an unpiloted voyage to the plot in March 2019 and a piloted flight with NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken on board. They took off May perchance perchance 30 and safely returned to Earth on August 2.

Boeing launched its Starliner on an unpiloted take a look at flight last December, but main instrument concerns marred the mission and a reflight is planned gradual this twelve months or early next. A piloted take a look at flight is anticipated next spring or summer season.

In the length in-between, NASA is reckoning on SpaceX and its Crew Dragon to send four astronauts at a time to the plot plot. Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Jap astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Blueprint Company astronaut Thomas Pesquet plan to blast off on the Crew 2 mission in gradual April, changing their Crew 1 colleagues.