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SpaceX to launch private Axiom 3 mission to ISS - TWIRL #147 by Paul Hill We have plenty of SpaceX launches coming up this week. Two are Starlink missions but one will be a Crew Dragon mission to the space station. It will be carrying the Axiom 3 crew to the ISS who will spend a week there. Axiom Space is a private space company just like SpaceX. Sunday, 14 January Who: SpaceX What: Falcon 9 B5 When: 12:52 a.m. UTC Where: Cape Canaveral, Florida, US Why: SpaceX will be launching 23 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. This batch of satellites is known as Starlin Group 6-37, an identifier you can use to find these satellites on tracking apps and websites. Who: SpaceX What: Falcon 9 B5 When: 8:59 - 9:27 a.m. UTC Where: Vandenberg AFB, California, US Why: This launch will put 22 Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. Unlike the other launch, this one will also be carrying direct-to-cell Starlink satellites which connect directly to devices. This was mean to take off on January 8 but has been delayed several times since then for some reason. Wednesday, 17 January Who: Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) What: Long March 7 When: 2:27 p.m. UTC Where: Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre Why: CNSA will use a Long March 7 to launch the Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft which will head to the Chinese Space Station (CSS). The Tianzhou 7 will operate for nine months in space. Who: SpaceX What: Falcon 9 B5 When: 10:11 p.m. UTC Where: SpaceX LC-39A, Florida, US Why: SpaceX will launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9. The spacecraft will spend a week at the International Space Station and will transport Axiom Space’s astronaut Michael López-Alegría, ESA astronaut Marcus Wandt, Italian astronaut Walter Villadei and Turkish astronaut Alper Gezeravci to the ISS on a private mission called Axiom 3. Recap The first mission last week was the launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites into orbit. The second launch of the week saw United Launch Alliance (ULA) a Vulcan Centaur rocket take off carrying Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander. Unfortunately since launch, the company has said the lander won’t reach the moon. The next launch was a Long March 2C carrying the Einstein Probe which was developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE). The probe will study X-rays coming from neutron stars and black holes. The fourth launch was a Kuaizhou 1A rocket carrying the Tianxing 1 test satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The satellite will be used for experiments like space environment detection. An interesting launch this week was the Gravity 1 which took off from a sea platform near Haiyang in China. The rocket was carrying three Yunyao 1 satellites to a low Earth orbit. The vehicle was designed by the Chinese company OrienSpace. The final launch we got was the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket carrying the IGS Optical-8 satellite. The satellite is a Japanese optical reconnaissance satellite. That’s all for this week, check in next time!

A feasibility study for a Crew Dragon Hubble servicing mission went to the suits a few weeks ago. A 'Polaris Hubble' mission would be after the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission, where SpaceX will test their new EVA (spacewalk) suits and take a ride into the Inner Van Allen belt, breaking Gemini 11s orbital altitude record. Their goal would be >1,400 km. https://spacenews.com/hubble-glitch-renews-talk-about-private-servicing-mission/

SpaceX to launch a globally diverse crew to the International Space Station - TWIRL #128 by Paul Hill We have a very busy week coming up. The most notable launch will take place on Friday when SpaceX launches its Crew Dragon with astronauts from the US, Europe, Russia, and Japan to the ISS. JAXA and NASA will also be launching their XRISM mission this week. Sunday, 20 August Who: Chinese National Space Agency What: Long March 4C Where: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre When: 5:45 p.m. UTC Why: It’s unclear what the payload is but it could be the Gaofen 12-04 radar satellite. Tuesday, 22 August Who: SpaceX What: Falcon 9 B5 Where: Vandenburg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 4 - viewable on the SpaceX website. When: 6:00 a.m. UTC Why: 21 Starlink v2 Mini satellites are being launched into a low Earth orbit. The satellites are designated as Starlink Group 7-1. Wednesday, 23 August Who: SpaceX What: Falcon 9 B5 Where: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral - viewable on the SpaceX website. When: 12:47 a.m. UTC Why: 22 Starlink v2 Mini satellites are being put into a low Earth orbit. This group will be known as Starlink Group 6-11. Who: Roscosmos What: Soyuz 2.1a Where: Baikonur Cosmodrome When: 1:08 a.m. UTC Why: It will launch the 85th Progress cargo delivery to the crew up at the International Space Station (ISS). Who: Rocket Lab What: Electron Where: LC-1B, Mahia, New Zealand - viewable on Rocket Lab’s website. When: 11:30 p.m. UTC Why: Rocket Lab will launch the first Arcadia series satellite dubbed Acadia 1 for Capella Space. The Acadia synthetic aperture radar satellites will be used for snapping images of the Earth. Friday, 25 August Who: SpaceX What: Falcon 9 B5 Where: SpaceX LC-39A, Florida - viewable on the SpaceX website. When: 7:49 a.m. UTC Why: SpaceX will launch Crew-7 on the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS. The mission is part of NASA’s commercial crew program. The crew includes NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. Saturday, August 26 Who: JAXA and NASA What: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA Where: Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-1 When: 12:34 a.m. UTC Why: JAXA and NASA will launch the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) to perform high-res X-ray spectroscopic observations of the hot gas plasma wind that travels through galaxies in the universe. It will help us learn more about the composition and evolution of celestial objects. Also hitching a ride is JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM). This payload will test out precision landing technology on the moon. Recap The first launch we got last week was a Long March 3B carrying the L-SAR4 01 satellite from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. It will be used to provide remote sensing information services. Next, a Kuaizhou 1A rocket was launched carrying five HeDe-3 satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. They will be used as part of a new VDES maritime communication system. Finally, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 22 Starlink satellites to a low Earth orbit where they will provide broadband services. The group is known as Starlink Group 6-10. That’s all for this week, there will be a break next week with TWIRL hopefully returning the week after.

Fact: eventually, the International Space Station will be retired and NASA wants to use commercial space stations in low Earth orbit instead. These would be commercial entities, privately operated. Want to use it? Reserve the time and book your space launch. Result: NASA has selected Axiom Space to lead the way. Axiom Space is a private space company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Fouded and run by NASA veterans, https://www.axiomspace.com/ Axiom Space CEO: Michael Suffredini, former Program Manager ISS Program (2005-2015) Axiom Space VP: Michael Lopez-Alegria, former NASA Astronaut among others... the goals are, 1) fly commercial passengers to the International Space Station, initially using the Crew Dragon spacecraft then others as they become available. The customers would be those doing commercial or government experiments, private visitors, etc. The missions will be named AX-1, AX-2, etc. 2) launch the Axiom Node One module to the ISS in 2024, then expand. AxN1 is under construction in Europe at Thales Alenia Space. This would be followed by several other modules, roughly one every year. The AX-(n) mission crews would move into these habitats. 3) in the late 2020's these modules will disconnect from the ISS, becoming a free-flying commercial Axiom Station. AX-1 mission The commercial Crew Dragon AX-1 mission to ISS is currently scheduled for January, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/26/axiom-space-unveils-ax-1-crew-for-fully-private-spacex-mission-to-iss.html Note: besides AX-1, there will be another commercial Crew Dragon flight for Space Adventures. Commander: Michael Lopez-Alegria (US, former NASA astronaut, Axiom VP) Pilot: Larry Connor (US; managing partner Connor Group) Mission Specialist 1: Mark Pathy (Canada; CEO Mavrik Inc.) Mission Specialist 2: Eytan Stibbe (Israel; businessman, former IAF pilot)

TWIRL 36: Crew-3 Dragon set to take astronauts to ISS by Paul Hill Background image via NASA Kennedy In the upcoming week, we are due to see two launches to the International Space Station, which is a tiny bit unusual. The first mission to the ISS will come from Russia and this will just be a cargo mission but the second and more interesting launch will come from SpaceX which is launching Crew-3 Dragon with several astronauts aboard. Monday, October 25 The first launch of the week is ExPace’s Kuaizhou KZ-1A rocket which is launching the Jilin Gaofen 2F satellite. This launch was mentioned in the last edition of TWIRL but the October 22 launch was scrubbed and rescheduled for October 25. The new satellite will join the Jilin 1 Earth observation constellation and snap full-colour resolution images better than 0.76 metres over an area of 40 km. Tuesday, October 26 The second launch of the week will be a Japanese H-IIA (H-2A) rocket with the designation F44. It will be carrying a navigation satellite called QZS 1R into a geosynchronous orbit for the Japanese space agency, JAXA. The mission is due for launch around 2:00 a.m. UTC and will be livestreamed on YouTube for those who want to watch. Thursday, October 28 At midnight UTC on October 28, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, will launch a Soyuz 2.1a rocket to the International Space Station carrying the 79th Progress cargo delivery. The cargo aboard will include propellant and pressurised gases, food, water and other equipment. All this cargo will weigh 2,550 kg. The event should be streamed on YouTube, but if not, check out next week’s TWIRL recap for footage. Sunday, October 31 The final launch and most exciting launch of the week is from SpaceX. A Falcon 9 rocket will carry the Crew-3 Dragon capsule up to space where it will head to the International Space Station. This mission will be carrying NASA’s Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron as well as ESA’s Matthias Maurer. The launch is scheduled for 6:21 a.m. UTC and should be available on SpaceX’s YouTube channel. Recap In the last week, actress Yulia Peresild and film director Klim Shipenko returned to Earth. In the video below you can see them saying goodbye to those aboard the ISS. Below you can see their craft land back on Earth and their exit onto land. South Korea’s Nuri test flight also took place on Thursday, you can see footage of that below. Two more launches are scheduled for Sunday, October 24. This post will be updated when footage of those become available.

NASA Crew-1 Dragon set to return to Earth with Saturday splashdown by Paul Hill The American space agency NASA has announced that it will be live streaming the return to Earth for the NASA SpaceX Crew-1 mission from the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and JAXA’s Soichi Noguchi are set to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico at 11:36 a.m. EDT on Saturday, May 1. The Crew Dragon spacecraft which will be returning the astronauts is dubbed Resilience and will undock from the ISS at 5:55 p.m. following the hatch closure at 3:50 p.m. NASA TV will stream the hatch closure from 3:30 p.m. and the undocking from 5:30 p.m. It will then provide continuous coverage until the following morning when the craft finally lands back in the gulf. Following the return, NASA will hold a news conference from the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston at 1:30 p.m. You can find the NASA TV stream on the agency’s website. According to NASA, the undocking and splashdown were originally slated for Wednesday, April 28, but due to weather conditions expected in the splashdown zones, the return has been delayed. The agency and its commercial partner SpaceX will continue to monitor the weather forecasts to ensure that the return can still go ahead on Friday night. There are currently 11 people on the space station which is several more than we usually see up there at any one time. This is because the SpaceX vehicles take four astronauts up at a time rather than the three that Soyuz vehicles are able to carry and the arrival of two crews in quick succession. The latest crew arrived at the ISS on April 21 aboard the Crew-2 Dragon.

NASA has delayed the Crew-2 Dragon mission to the ISS by Paul Hill Over the weekend when This Week in Rocket Launches #9 was published, it was planned that the Crew-2 Dragon mission carrying astronauts to the International Space Station would take place on Thursday, April 22. Due to unfavourable weather conditions along the flight path, NASA is now looking to launch the mission at 5:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 23. According to the new schedule, the crew is scheduled to dock at the space station just under 24 hours after launch at 5:10 a.m. on Saturday, April 24. The mission will be carrying four astronauts, namely NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA’s Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA’s Thomas Pesquet. Once they arrive, the ISS will be host to a large crew of 11 people. On Friday at 1:30 a.m. EDT, NASA Television will begin live launch coverage. This will be followed up at 7:30 a.m. with a press conference hosted by NASA’s Steve Jurczyk and Kathy Lueders, JAXA’s Hiroshi Sasaki, ESA’s Frank de Winne, and an unnamed representative from SpaceX. The docking, hatch opening, and welcoming ceremony will also be streamed live on Saturday at 5:10 a.m., 7:15 a.m., and 7:45 a.m. respectively. To prepare for the stream, be sure to head over to the NASA TV website and save it as a bookmark ready for the launch.

TWIRL 9: SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon to take astronauts to ISS, NASA to try Mars Helicopter by Paul Hill Background image by NASA This week is panning out to be quite dramatic with NASA set to test its Mars Helicopter and SpaceX taking astronauts to the ISS on its Crew Dragon spacecraft. In addition to those events, SpaceX is also expected to launch the Starship SN-15 mission which will see the firm attempt to land the craft following NASA’s decision to pick Starship as the human landing system for its missions to the Moon from 2024. Monday, April 19 There are no rocket launches listed for Monday, however, Elon Musk did put out a tweet explaining that SpaceX is aiming to launch Starship SN-15 this week, therefore, Monday is the earliest time we will see the launch. This is the first Starship launch since NASA chose the vehicle for its human landing system on the Artemis missions so SpaceX should have a bit more motivation to get the landing right this time around. Aiming to launch next week — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2021 While this series is called This Week in Rocket Launches, it’s probably worth mentioning that NASA is looking to fly the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter from Monday at 3:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 a.m. PDT). Data from the autonomous flight will take time to get back to Earth and a live stream is due to start at 6:15 a.m. EDT (3:15 a.m. PDT). If the flight takes place, NASA will hold a briefing at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT) to apprise us of how the mission went. Tuesday, April 20 There’s only one event set for Tuesday and that is ExPace’s planned launch of the Kuaizhou KZ-1A with the Jilin Gaofen 2D satellite (Jilin 28) aboard. We’ve spoken several times about this launch in older issues of TWIRL but briefly, this satellite will capture high-resolution full-colour images from 535 km and will work within the Jilin 1 constellation that’s already in orbit. Thursday, April 22 Thursday will be one of the most interesting days of the week with SpaceX carrying out the Crew-2 Dragon mission which will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide to the international space station. This Dragon capsule is named Endeavour after the Space Shuttle and was the first of the dragon capsules to carry a crew. Interestingly, the ISS only got new arrivals two weeks ago so when the four new astronauts arrive there will 11 people on-board which is the highest number that has ever been on the space station at once, though, it’s not the highest number of people that have been in space at one time. Luckily for those on board, four of the astronauts will be departing on the SpaceX Crew-1 on April 28 bringing the ISS crew size to 7. Sunday, April 25 On Sunday there will be two missions. Roscosmos is looking to launch the Resurs-P 4 satellite from Baikonur atop a Soyuz 2.1b rocket and OneWeb will have 36 of its satellites put into orbit by a Starsem-owned Soyuz 2.1b rocket. The Resurs-P satellite will conduct Earth observation for Russian government agencies while the OneWeb satellites will make up a constellation providing internet for people on Earth and flying in planes.

NASA approves SpaceX and the Crew Dragon for regular crewed missions to the ISS by Ather Fawaz Image via NASA/SpaceX It has been a big year so far for SpaceX. Back in May, its Crew Dragon spacecraft completed its first manned voyage to the International Space Station (ISS). With Elon Musk accrediting Starship as the top priority for the company, the famed project has also picked up pace. So has the Starlink initiative, with its recent expansion to include more beta customers. The firm is also gearing up for Dragon's second manned mission, Crew-1, to the ISS in a few days as well. Amidst all this, it has now finally gained NASA's approval that it has been striving towards with the Commercial Crew program. The approval came after NASA signed the Human Rating Certification Plan for SpaceX’s crew transportation system yesterday. The signing was completed after conducting a thorough flight readiness review ahead of the agency’s Crew-1 mission, with astronauts onboard, to the space station. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine commended the success of the Commercial Crew Program and the achievements of both companies, stating: “I’m extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft. This certification milestone is an incredible achievement from NASA and SpaceX that highlights the progress we can make working together with commercial industry.” The founder and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk marked it as an honor and a motivating force in the company's vision to make flights to the Moon and Mars a reality: “This is a great honor that inspires confidence in our endeavor to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and ultimately help humanity become multi-planetary." This is a milestone for both companies. For SpaceX, this system of the Crew Dragon plus the Falcon 9 rocket along with the associated ground systems is the first to be NASA-certified for regular manned flights since the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago. This obviously means that SpaceX's hefty investment in the Commercial Crew program has paid off. For NASA, this is the first time that the agency has certified a commercial spacecraft system in history that is capable of transporting humans to and from the ISS. This directly means that astronauts can regularly make trips to the ISS to and from American soil, which could be a vital step towards commercializing space flights.

NASA and SpaceX are gearing up for Crew Dragon's second manned voyage to the ISS next month by Ather Fawaz SpaceX Crew-1. Image via SpaceX/NASA SpaceX and NASA are preparing to launch the Crew Dragon's second manned flight to the International Space Station (ISS) next month. Dubbed Crew-1, the private spaceflight will be ferrying astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi to the space station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Weather permitting and barring unforeseen circumstances, the Crew Dragon will launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:49 PM EST (0049 GMT) on Saturday, November 15. Crew-1 astronauts will join the Expedition 64 crew of Commander Sergey Ryzhikov, and Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. The arrival of Crew-1 will increase the regular crew size of the space station’s expedition missions from six to seven astronauts, adding to the amount of crew time available for research. Although the companies planned to launch this mission back in August initially, they have faced numerous delays. Last week, NASA announced that they were considering a launch window sometime early to mid-November. November 15 falls within that period, and it will be less than six months after the Dragon's first voyage to the ISS back in May this year. The latest delay, NASA stated, was to provide "additional time for SpaceX to complete hardware testing and data reviews as the company evaluates off-nominal behavior of Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators observed during a recent non-NASA mission launch attempt". Image via NASA Commercial Crew (Twitter) Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 28, 4 PM EDT, teams managing the Crew-1 mission will hold a media teleconference to get the media and the general public up to speed with what's in store for next month's launch. They will also be discussing results from the recent testing of Falcon 9 Merlin engines that have caused the latest delay. For those interested, you can join the live teleconference here.

SpaceX achieves major milestones on Falcon 9's 12th launch of the year by Ather Fawaz GIF via TechCrunch SpaceX's latest launch had a lot of firsts. On Monday, July 20, Falcon 9 took flight for the 12th time this year. At 05:30 PM EDT, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, it began its journey with ANASIS-II onboard, which became South Korea's first military satellite in space following successful deployment. On this mission, the Falcon 9 rocket used the same boosters that were used less than two months ago in Crew Dragon's maiden manned flight to the International Space Station (ISS). To be exact, a period of 51 days separates the Dragon's test flight and Monday's launch, making it the fastest turnaround time for a rocket booster in history. The previous record was held by NASA's Atlantis space shuttle, which turned around in 54 days. In spite of this impressive feat, SpaceX is pushing to further reduce this turnaround time to a matter of days instead of weeks. Image via SpaceX This recycling and reusing of rocket boosters is a way for SpaceX to cut costs, essentially recovering machinery worth millions of dollars with each launch. Still, the founder and CEO of the firm, Elon Musk, wants to further maximize this. And Monday's launch did exactly that. For the first time, SpaceX was able to recover both fairing halves on the Falcon 9. This fairing is essentially a two-piece protective cover encapsulating the payload on the rocket as it pushes through Earth’s atmosphere before entry into space. After they have served their purpose, the two halves dislodge from the spacecraft and end up in a water body on Earth. SpaceX caught and retrieved the two fairing halves using two ships accoutered with special nets, Musk announced in a tweet. Of course, this in addition to SpaceX successfully landing the Falcon 9's boosters back on a landing pad to retrieve them as well. 🤩🥰 pic.twitter.com/rO159SnDMW — venus 🧜‍♀️ (@venus47203379) July 20, 2020 The estimated savings from the fairing's retrieval alone amount up to $6 million. Furthermore, SpaceX is looking into potentially modifying the netted ships to catch the Crew Dragon bringing astronauts back to the Earth in the future as well. Historically, astronauts have to be collected from an ocean, and thus, immediate retrieval via the modified ships could be a promising safety improvement to the procedure.

A dive into SpaceX and Crew Dragon's maiden crewed flight to the ISS by Ather Fawaz The Falcon 9 takes to the skies.| Image via NASA/SpaceX On Saturday, May 30, courtesy of Demo-2, SpaceX became the first privately-owned company to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Saturday was also a historic moment for NASA and the United States. After a hiatus of nine years following the discontinuation of the space shuttle program back in 2011, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley boarded the Crew Dragon capsule and took flight from American soil on a journey to the space station. A scrubbed launch Although Demo-2 was initially scheduled for Wednesday, May 27 at 04:33 PM EDT, the launch was scrubbed, with just 17 minutes left on the clock before liftoff, due to the Tropical Storm Bertha that was brewing off the coast of the Carolinas. The next launch window available to NASA and SpaceX was Saturday, May 31 at 03:22 PM EDT, an hour earlier than the Wednesday window. In the following days, the weather continued to be unfavorable with cancellation likelihood as high as 50 to 60% even for Saturday. However, the situation improved and the final weather reports deemed the conditions to be approximately 70% favorable. This time, Behnken and Hurley, ensconced in their seats in Crew Dragon, were given the go-ahead. Liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida At 03:22PM EDT, Saturday, May 30, Dragon took flight atop the Falcon 9 rocket from the historic Launch Complex 39A in Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Launch Complex 39A was a fitting place for Crew Dragon’s maiden crewed flight to the ISS as it is the same place the Saturn V launched humanity to the Moon and from where the first and final Space Shuttle missions lifted off as well. A closeup of the Falcon 9 as it takes off. Image via NASA HQ Photos (Twitter) After lift-off, the Falcon 9 rocket powered through the ascent stages. Approximately a minute after launch, Max-Q, a point where the Falcon 9’s atmospheric flight reaches maximum dynamic pressure, was achieved. Falcon 9 achieves Max-Q |. Image via NASA/SpaceX A minute and a half later, the main engine cutoff (MECO) occurred, and Stage 1 of the rocket detached from Stage 2. From here on, the flight pathways of Dragon and the Falcon 9’s boosters diverged. Stage 1 separates from Stage 2. Image via NASA/SpaceX Following the infamous flip maneuver, the Falcon 9’s first stage initiated its entry burn around the 7-minute mark to slow down for its descending back into the Earth’s atmosphere. On the other hand, second stage cutoff 1 occurred (SECO-1). Midway through the tenth minute after launch, the Falcon 9’s booster entered its landing burn and completed a vertical touchdown at sea on the drone ship. Three minutes later, Dragon separated from Stage 2 and began its voyage towards the International Space Station. Falcon 9's booster lands vertically back to the Earth. Image via NASA/SpaceX What followed was a journey just shy of 19 hours. During this period, we had several interesting events onboard, including the appearance of ‘Tremor’, the toy Apatosaurus dinosaur which was seen floating inside the Dragon capsule. The astronauts cherry-picked Tremor from their sons’ toys to take with them to the ISS. Tremor floating in the Crew Dragon |. Image via NASA/SpaceX Hurley and Behnken also announced that they had named their capsule Endeavor due to their first flights onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor and as a memento of the decommissioned space shuttle program. In addition to this, Behnken and Hurley also got some time to hit the hay before the final approach to the ISS began. Final Approach The Crew Dragon docks at the ISS. Image via NASA/SpaceX While the Crew Dragon was designed to dock at the space station with little human intervention, Bob Hurley piloted the spacecraft until 220 meters from the docking ports. From here on, they gave up control and let the automated docking system take over. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon docked at the ISS on Sunday, 31 May at 10:16 AM EDT, 13 minutes ahead of the scheduled time of 10:29 AM EDT. Dragon's docking makes it the fifth vehicle parked on the space station currently. A few hours later, the hatch was opened and Hurley and Behnken boarded the ISS. They were welcomed by NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoli Ivanishin who embraced them upon entry. A docked Crew Dragon spacecraft waits before opening the hatch |. Image via NASA/SpaceX With the first part of the test mission complete, astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are now officially a part of the ISS Expedition 63. They are expected to stay on the space station from six to sixteen weeks, with the exact dates for departure depending on NASA's mission directives. Behnken and Doug are welcomed onboard the ISS. | Image via NASA/SpaceX Of course, the Dragon capsule will undergo a series of tests at the ISS as well. The Endeavor will be once again put to the test when it begins its fiery descent back towards the Earth, where it all started from, in a few months' time.

SpaceX's Starship SN4 prototype explodes on the test stand by Ather Fawaz Starship MK1 Prototype. Image via The Verge With all eyes set on Crew Dragon's maiden manned flight to the International Space Station (ISS), elsewhere, SpaceX is continuing work on Starship in tandem. But things quickly went south after the static fire test for the Raptor engine of the Starship SN4 prototype on Friday in Boca Chica, Texas. This was the fifth static fire test of this engine on this prototype vehicle. However, this time, after successfully completing its static fire test, the SN4 prototype exploded on the test stand. The video embedded below shows a short clip of the explosion along with its aftermath. The explosion occurred around 1:49 PM local time, under the two-minute mark after the static fire test. Eric Berger, the Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica tweeted that the cause of the explosion was 'some type of uncontrolled leak'. There appears to be significant damage to the test site as well. Image via SPadre (Twitter) While this is a setback to SpaceX and the Starship initiative, the company is already working on assembling its SN5 prototype on a launch stand nearby in Boca Chica. Testing should resume shortly once all prerequisites are set in place. Considering Elon Musk's bold plans for the program, the Starship program has picked up pace in recent months. The firm also published a short guide for the rocket back in April detailing its various configurations. As stated before, in Florida, the Crew Dragon is preparing for its historic flight to the ISS with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board. If the weather is benign, the spacecraft is slated to launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket at 03:22 PM EDT on Saturday. This is the second launch window that SpaceX has at its disposal after the Wednesday launch had to be scrubbed due to unfavorable conditions. Should Saturday's launch also run into similar issues, a third launch window is available on Sunday. You may check out our coverage of the Crew Dragon here.

Launch America: Your succinct guide to Crew Dragon and SpaceX's ongoing flight to the ISS by Ather Fawaz [Author's note] Updates will be posted at the end of the article as the situation unfolds. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 03:22 PM EDT carrying with it the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Image via SpaceX livestream Wednesday May 27 is slated to be a watershed moment for the United States and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). Since the discontinuation of the space shuttle program back in 2011, for the first time in nine years, a crew of astronauts, namely Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, will lift off from American soil onboard the Crew Dragon to embark on a voyage to the International Space Station (ISS). Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. Image via NASA/SpaceX Wednesday is also set to be a pivotal point for one private company in particular – SpaceX. Founded and headed by Elon Musk, SpaceX with its Crew Dragon spacecraft has been a prime contender for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program that launched a decade back. The overarching theme of the program? To outsource the development of the next generation of space capsules to privately-owned firms. This will help cut corners with taxpayer money and do away with the expense of ferrying astronauts from Kazakhstan inside the Russian Soyuz capsule. Image via NASA/SpaceX Two contenders have been the frontrunners of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Boeing and SpaceX. For now, odds are in the favor of Crew Dragon and SpaceX at a time when luck has not entirely been on Boeing’s side. The company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft has run into issues in a background that is marred by an already failing venture with the Boeing 737 MAX – an aircraft that once promised so much. Having said that, Crew Dragon had its fair share of issues as well, particularly in the later stages of development. Image via NASA/SpaceX Impressively, the Crew Dragon is set to be the third spacecraft in history to transport a crew to the ISS. The other two are the phased-out space shuttle and the venerable Soyuz capsule. Compared to the Soyuz, which can only house three astronauts, the Crew Dragon can cater to a maximum of seven astronauts on board. This can significantly cut costs as the net per head expenses of transporting astronauts decreases with increased capacity. Image via Everyday Astronaut Come Wednesday, the maiden, manned test flight dubbed Demo-2, will verify whether Crew Dragon is fit for ferrying astronauts to the ISS. For clarity, the Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the space station back in 2019, but that was an unmanned journey. If Demo-2 is a success, the Crew Dragon can potentially begin its service as early as September this year. Preparations for Demo-2 are already underway and have picked up pace this week starting with the arrival of Behnken and Hurley to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once settled in, the astronauts underwent a complete launch day rehearsal clad in their spacesuits after the Falcon 9 rocket successfully completed its static fire tests the day before. Image via NASA/SpaceX Image via NASA/SpaceX Earlier today, SpaceX and NASA gave a go-ahead to the launch after the spacecraft successfully passed the Launch Readiness Review. With all preliminary tests successfully complete, Demo-2 is only a waiting game now. Image via NASA/SpaceX With Behnken and Hurley on board, Crew Dragon will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A, which is a monumental site. It’s the same place the Saturn V launched humanity to the Moon and from where the first and final Space Shuttle missions lifted off as well. Falcon 9's static fire tests complete. Image via NASA/SpaceX Barring any weather hazards or unforeseen circumstances, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is slated to take flight at 04:33 PM EDT (20:33 GMT). In case of any special circumstances, SpaceX has two alternate launch windows available on May 30 and May 31 as well. You can tune into NASA TV or the official live stream of NASA for Demo-2. Details for that can be found here. Here’s a handy website with which you can convert the official timings to your time zones, should you need it. Demo-2's flight details. Image via NASA/SpaceX Here's a succinct rundown of flight events given by SpaceX's Benji Reed. In summary, Crew Dragon will culminate the first part of Demo-2 by docking at the International Space Station on May 28, meanwhile, Falcon 9 will complete its journey back to the earth via a vertical landing. The firm has uploaded a short video showing the simulated docking of the Crew Dragon to the ISS. This would complete the mission to ferry astronauts from American soil to the space station for the first time in nine years after the space shuttle program was discontinued back in 2011. Demo-2 is called off on Wednesday, May 27 due to unfavorable weather Unfortunately, with under 17 minutes to go to the planned launch at 04:33 PM EDT (20:33 GMT), NASA and SpaceX have decided to call off Demo-2 due to unfavorable weather. The relevant authorities and engineers were already monitoring the weather situation for the last couple of days and the official figures were oscillating between a low 40-60% for a favorable condition. "We are not going to launch today." Due to the weather conditions, the launch is scrubbing. Our next opportunity will be Saturday, May 30 at 3:22pm ET. Live #LaunchAmerica coverage will begin at 11am ET. pic.twitter.com/c7R1AmLLYh — NASA (@NASA) May 27, 2020 Now, SpaceX and NASA will be aiming for a launch on Saturday, May 30 at 03:22 PM EDT (19:22 GMT). This launch window was one of the two alternatives available to Demo-2 in case of any unforeseen circumstances such as this one. The second alternative is Sunday, May 31. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley waited for all the propellant to be emptied from the Falcon 9 rocket before the hatch opened for them to evacuate the spacecraft. Thankfully, no problems were reported thus far in the Falcon 9 rocket or the Crew Dragon capsule; bad weather seemed to be the only cause for the cancellation. Final preparations for the Saturday launch are underway Image via SpaceX SpaceX and NASA are preparing for the second launch window, which is Saturday 03:22 PM EDT. While all systems and equipment checks have been cleared, the weather is still precarious. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted that there's a 50% chance of a cancellation. With this in mind, there's another launch window available tomorrow, Sunday, May 31. Further down the lane, June 7 and 8 are reserved as well, but NASA is pushing for earlier launch windows as well. Targeting 3:22 p.m. EDT today for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew Dragon with two @NASA astronauts → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK pic.twitter.com/EidVkBOTLm — SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 30, 2020 You can tune in to NASA's 24/7 live stream on their official YouTube channel. Prelaunch streaming has begun. NASA and SpaceX officials have held a press conference where Bridenstine reassured that the safety of astronauts of Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley is a top priority despite the importance of the Commercial Crew program in cutting corners with taxpayer money. He also lauded SpaceX founder Elon Musk for bringing vision and commitment to the Commercial Crew program. The Crew Dragon lifts off! The Falcon 9 lifted off at 03:22 PM EDT carrying with it the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Image via SpaceX livestream After finally going through with the launch, Crew Dragon has launched atop the Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket is officially on its way to the International Space Station now. Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 booster has vertically landed back on earth, as expected, after it dropped the Crew Dragon off in orbit about 12 minutes after launch. Now, the astronauts have a 16-hour journey to the space station before them. If things remain on schedule, the spacecraft is expected to dock at the ISS around 10:30 AM EDT on May 31. Falcon 9 booster lands back on earth successfully. The spacepod carrying the astronauts detached and is on its way to the ISS now. You can watch the events below as they unfold live on NASA's live stream of the entire event. How are you preparing for #LaunchAmerica? Feel free to sound off in the comments below.

NASA and SpaceX are a go for Crew Dragon's historic launch on Wednesday by Ather Fawaz Image via NASA SpaceX and NASA have confirmed that tomorrow's Crew Dragon launch is a go after the spacecraft officially passed the final flight readiness review. The spacecraft will launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board who will be making a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). .@NASA and @SpaceX are "go" for launch following today’s Launch Readiness Review for the Crew Dragon test flight targeted for May 27. The U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 60% chance of unfavorable weather. However, things are looking up: https://t.co/5wJ0H8xTMW pic.twitter.com/BxR0XPEXZa — NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) May 26, 2020 NASA and SpaceX gave the go-ahead after successfully completing the pre-launch flight checks. These include a dress rehearsal, strapping Hurley and Behnken into the rocket, and a full-length static test fire of the Falcon 9’s engines. However, weather conditions on Wednesday will prove to be a linchpin for the exact launching time. If things go according to plan, SpaceX's Crew Dragon will lift off on the Falcon 9 rocket Kennedy Space Center in Florida from Launch Complex 39A on May 27, Wednesday (May 27) at 04:33 PM EDT (20:33 GMT). But the conditions are only 40% favorable for a launch attempt on schedule for Wednesday as of now. Having said that, there are two alternative launch windows available on May 30 and May 31, respectively. Astonauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Image via NASA The historic launch will be the first time that astronauts launch from American soil after the discontinuation of the space shuttle program back in 2011. It will also be the first human spaceflight for SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which is a part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Finally, it is also slated to be the 3rd vehicle ever to deliver crew members to the orbiting laboratory after the Space Shuttle and the Russian Soyuz space capsule.

China's successor to the Shenzhou crew capsule descends back to the earth successfully by Ather Fawaz Image via CASC On Tuesday, China's next-generation crew capsule's prototype launched atop a Long March 5B rocket at 06:00 AM Eastern Time from the coastal Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island. Once at the designated altitude, the unnamed spacecraft performed a series of maneuvers successfully. And as scheduled, the spacecraft has now touched down safely in the Dongfeng desert area at 01:49 AM Eastern Time. The crew capsule used its heat shield and parachute systems to descend safely towards the earth after the planned deorbital burn and separation of crew and service modules. During the test flight, the spacecraft also lofted a prototype inflatable cargo reentry system for testing purposes as well. Image via CASC The upcoming space capsule has two variants. One weighs 14 metric tons while the other weighs 21 metric tons. The latter, which is designed for deep space, was tested during this flight. This Chinese crew capsule is set to be the successor of the Shenzhou space capsule, which has launched all six of the country's crewed spaceflights to date. The successor is built by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and is designed to carry up to seven astronauts (compared to Shenzhou's capacity of three). Image via CASC This successful test allows China to proceed with a potential July mission to send an orbiter and rover to Mars. It also clears the Long March 5B rocket for lofting modules as heavy as 22-metric-tons for China’s future space flights into the lower earth orbit. Source: Space China via Engadget and Space.com

The flames and the splashdown: Crew Dragon's in-flight abort test, as it happened by Ather Fawaz After successfully completing static fire tests for the Crew Dragon spacecraft back in November, last year, SpaceX and NASA have now aced the launch abort test. NASA reported via a tweet: Test complete! Today, @SpaceX completed its In-Flight Abort Test designed to show the #CrewDragon spacecraft’s capability to safely separate from the rocket in the unlikely event of an inflight emergency: https://t.co/j7v2y8svOk pic.twitter.com/VbKh9E2BAQ — NASA (@NASA) January 19, 2020 Here's the live stream of the event, hosted by SpaceX: The unmanned launch abort test was a critical part of the testing phase whereby the ability of the Crew Dragon's SuperDraco-powered abort system—designed to detach the space pod in the event of an emergency during flight—was put through its paces. It was not all plain sailing in preparation for the launch with the original testing slated for Saturday. However, unlike the critical issues plaguing Boeing's shot at the Commercial Crew program, Saturday's launch was delayed by 24 hours due to unfavorable conditions in the testing area. When the weather did clear up, SpaceX proceeded with the launch at 10:30 AM EST (03:30 PM GMT), Sunday, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Exactly 84 seconds after launch, the SuperDracos fired up and detached the capsule away from the Falcon 9 rocket. Shortly after, with the Crew Dragon a safe distance away, the Falcon 9 deliberately went up in flames, simulating the safe escape of a crew from a critical emergency. Enroute its journey back to the ground, Crew Dragon broke the sound barrier in a characteristic sonic boom and reached twice the speed of sound. Despite it being an unmanned test, SpaceX had a couple of robots to help the firm gather vital data on humans during the flight. Eventually, the capsule together with the dummies onboard was successfully recovered from the Atlantic upon splashdown, after Crew Dragon ran through its entire escape protocol. Splashdown of Crew Dragon in the Atlantic Ocean! pic.twitter.com/V1C2Xfd9Mk — SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 19, 2020 Moving forward, the next milestone for Crew Dragon will have the spacecraft house two astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. But before that, the upgraded parachute systems on the space pod will be put to the test. Subsequently, if those tests, together with others, go as planned, Elon Musk is aiming for a crewed Crew Dragon some time in the second quarter of this year.

Tune in to watch the live broadcast of Boeing's Orbital Flight Test by Ather Fawaz NASA' Commercial Crew program has picked up the pace in recent months. Back in October, the NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, met with the founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, to discuss Crew Dragon and the subsequent plans ahead for the two companies. After a successful meeting, last month, SpaceX successfully completed its static fire tests on its spacecraft—Crew Dragon. This was after the company had already made a successful unmanned test flight with the Crew Dragon in March. On the other half of the horizon, the other candidate for NASA's Commercial Crew program, Boeing, is also set to launch an unmanned test flight with its CST-100 Starliner vehicle atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket shortly. NASA will be broadcasting the complete launch event on a live stream on YouTube. The countdown to the launch is also up on Boeing's Starliner website. The live stream should begin shortly, ahead of the launch window at 6:36:43 AM ET (4:36 PT/11:36 UTC). This test flight, dubbed as Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test, will be the pod's first voyage to the International Space Station. According to NASA, the primary aim of this test is, "an end-to-end demonstration of Boeing’s ability to launch astronauts to the orbiting laboratory and return them home," which is in line with the Commercial Crew program's requirements. Preparations for the launch are already underway and the spacecraft has already been loaded with fuel as well as the anthropometric test humanoid 'Rosie' to gather data on the space flight. Fueling of the #AtlasV has been completed, giving us a 979,223-pound rocket that is getting ready for launch at 6:36amEST (1136 UTC) today from Cape Canaveral. Live countdown blog: https://t.co/1zR8ToeFl6 — ULA (@ulalaunch) December 20, 2019 For more information and the complete, approximate timeline for the entire event, you may read NASA's official announcement.

SpaceX completes the static fire tests on Crew Dragon successfully this time by Ather Fawaz NASA's Commercial Crew program has been picking up pace in recent months. In October, the NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, met with the founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk. In the meeting, the two discussed the Commerical Crew program and the way forward for the two companies. Following it, today, SpaceX has successfully completed a series of static fire engine tests ahead of an in-flight launch escape demonstration. Full duration static fire test of Crew Dragon’s launch escape system complete – SpaceX and NASA teams are now reviewing test data and working toward an in-flight demonstration of Crew Dragon’s launch escape capabilities pic.twitter.com/CMHvMRBQcW — SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 13, 2019 The successful completion of the test is welcome news for the Commercial Crew program because the same test, last carried out in April, resulted in an explosion that damaged the Crew Dragon capsule. According to NASA, the April fail was remedied by the redesigning of the components in the high-flow helium pressurization system, which had initially seen a slug of liquid propellant igniting titanium, thereby causing an explosion. Based on that investigation’s findings and months of testing, SpaceX redesigned components of the system to eliminate the possibility of slugs entering the high-flow pressurization system. Today's successful tests seem to prove that the engineers were able to iron out the issue. Moving forward, the team working on Commercial Crew is now analyzing the data collected from today's testing and is preparing for the upcoming in-flight abort test that will help the crew escape from the spacecraft in emergency situations.

NASA and SpaceX to meet and discuss Crew Dragon in Hawthorne on Thursday by Ather Fawaz Today, the NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, tweeted he will be meeting Elon Musk on Thursday at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Bridenstine will be discussing the progress of SpaceX on Crew Dragon, a spacecraft that the company is collaborating on with NASA. Accompanying the two men will be Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, two astronauts who are scheduled to take flight on Crew Dragon's Demo-2 flight test to the International Space Station. I had a great phone call with @elonmusk this week, and I’m looking forward to visiting @SpaceX in Hawthorne next Thursday. More to come soon! — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) October 3, 2019 This is following the recent updates by SpaceX and Elon Musk regarding another project. On September 29, Musk unveiled his plans for putting SpaceX's gargantuan spacecraft dubbed Starship in orbit in half a year, in a presentation at the company's Boca Chica test site near Brownsville, Texas. Starship is the company's initiative for space travel and for inhabiting other planets in the future, as Musk claimed in his tweet. But the presentation invited some critique by Jim Bridenstine, the NASA Administrator, vis-à-vis the affiliation between SpaceX and NASA on Crew Dragon. Bridenstine reminded the entrepreneur via a tweet that NASA's Commercial Crew was still "years behind schedule", called for the "the same level of enthusiasm focused on the investments of the American taxpayer", and signaled that "it's time to deliver." My statement on @SpaceX's announcement tomorrow: pic.twitter.com/C67MhSeNsa — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) September 27, 2019 Since then, it's been back and forth between the two of them. Musk responded to the administrator's tweet by clarifying at the presentation that only a handful of resources were being invested into Starship and that whereas "the vast majority of our resources are [focused] on Falcon and Dragon, especially Crew Dragon." As such, how things unfold at the meeting on Thursday will certainly be interesting. There might even be a live stream, so stay on the lookout on Bridenstine's twitter account. As always, we're keen on hearing your thoughts. You can sound off in the comments section below!

Manned Crew Dragon boarding the ISS in Q1 2020, and all that was discussed in today's meeting by Ather Fawaz As promised earlier this week, the NASA Space Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, met with the SpaceX founder, Elon Musk in the company of two astronauts today to discuss their progress on a project that the two companies are collaborating on as part of NASA's Commercial Crew program—Crew Dragon. On his official twitter profile, Jim Bridenstine tweeted about today's meeting. The live stream posted by CNBC Television on YouTube is attached below: The NASA Administrator prefaced the media address by first thanking the team at SpaceX for the tour and the subsequent discussion related to Commercial Crew. Bridenstine then defined the agency's stance on Crew Dragon and Commercial Crew: "Know this, NASA has a lot under development right now. And there's a big difference between development and operations. [...] And what we're doing right now is we're developing brand new things that have never operated before. And Commercial Crew is one of them. And the Crew Dragon is an element of Commercial Crew." The meeting comes after a period when it seemed that the wavelengths and the expectations of the two companies did not perfectly harmonize. However, today's meeting shows that the relations between NASA and SpaceX are still strong, which can be seen in the public address delivered by the two. Musk addressed the media by saying: "Human spaceflight is the reason that SpaceX was created, and we’re incredibly honored to partner with NASA. And just to make this happen, this is a dream come true, really." While Bridenstine claimed: "Elon and I are in strong agreement on this — that the one thing we have under development that is of the highest priority is launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil." There is more good to take away from today's meeting at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne. Jim Bridenstine envisaged that the first crewed "Demo-2" test flight of the Crew Dragon might take place as early as Q1 of next year with the capsule arriving on launch site—Cape Canaveral—in December this year. But there is still a fair bit of testing left before that, the administrator clarified. Musk also dabbled in the upcoming drop tests for the new Mark 3 parachutes that the company has been working on as part of the project. "My opinion is that these are the best parachutes ever, like, by a lot," Musk waxed eloquent about them. The SpaceX founder announced plans for conducting at least 10 parachute drop tests by the turn of the new year. Judging from the Hawthrone meeting, the two companies seem to be back on the same page so we might see some interesting developments in the next few months. If you're interested in finding out more about today's meeting, you can watch the live stream here.