Journalism of Courage
SpaceX was supposed to launch two NASA astronauts aboard its Crew Dragon capsule on top of its Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 27 at 2:03 AM IST. But due to the weather conditions, the space agency scrubbed the launch and has rescheduled it on May 31 at 1:52 AM IST. During the delay announcement, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, "the weather got us." Despite of the weather and the delay "it was a great day for NASA. It was a great day for SpaceX. I think our teams worked together in a really impressive way, making good decisions all along," he added. (Image: NASA, SpaceX)
The Demo-2 test flight marks the first time in nine years that a manned spacecraft will launch from the United States. It is also the first time a private spacecraft company is going to use its own rocket to put humans into orbit. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASA is urging all of its spectators to stay home and watch the event remotely via livestream that both NASA and SpaceX will be running across various platforms. (Image: NASA, SpaceX)
Both of the NASA astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken had boarded the flight on May 27. However, due to the delay, they had to deboard the flight and now have to wait for a few more days before they can leave the Earth's atmosphere. If the liftoff gets scrubbed again on May 31 then the mission does have backup dates of June 1 and June 2.
Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were military test pilots in the Marines and Air Force, respectively. Both were selected for NASA’s commercial crew program back in 2015. They have been colleagues since time they joined NASA in 2000 as part of Astronaut Group 18. (Image: NASA, SpaceX)
After shuttering its space shuttle programs, NASA began buying seats on Russian spacecraft until the commercial US vehicles from companies like SpaceX and Boeing were ready. (Image: NASA, SpaceX)
Once both Hurley and Behnken reach ISS, they will stay there for an undetermined amount of time, which is between one month to 110 days. They will be helping the three astronauts (Chris Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner) already on board with the ongoing research. (Image: NASA, SpaceX)
Once the Crew Dragon capsule makes its return to the Earth, it will parachute into the Atlantic Ocean, near to the Cape Canaveral site. (Image: NASA, SpaceX)
