SpaceX Crew Astronauts Get Used to Space Station

ISS - Expedition 63 Mission patch / NASA & SpaceX - Dragon Demo-2 - Behnken & Hurley patch.

June 1, 2020

Image above: May 31, 2020: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are attached to the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the HTV-9 resupply ship from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Russia's Progress 74 and 75 resupply ships and Soyuz MS-16 crew ship. Image Credit: NASA.

The International Space Station has two new NASA astronauts after the SpaceX Crew Dragon arrived on Sunday. The newly-expanded Expedition 63 crew will now be ramping up microgravity research in the coming days and weeks.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are getting up to speed with space station systems and operations on their first full day as Expedition 63 crewmates. The duo is also unpacking the Crew Dragon vehicle today and integrating its systems with the space station.

Image above: NASA astronauts and Expedition 63 crew members (from left) Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley and Chris Cassidy. Image Credit: NASA TV.

The duo joined NASA Commander Chris Cassidy, who has been on orbit since April 9, for a news conference today and talked about the historical nature of the first crewed Dragon mission. Hurley and Behnken, who each flew on two space shuttle missions, also described the differences between the Dragon crew ship and the now-retired shuttles.

Expedition 63 and DM-2 Crew News Conference - June 1, 2020

Cassidy primarily spent Monday on ongoing lab maintenance activities. The veteran astronaut, who also flew on two previous shuttle missions, serviced research hardware and plumbing gear throughout Monday.

The two Roscosmos cosmonauts, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, focused on science and routine operations in the Russian segment of the orbiting lab. They joined their NASA crewmates in the morning to review Crew Dragon emergency procedures. Afterward, the duo explored advanced Earth photography techniques and ways to improve space exercise.

Related links:

Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html

Advanced Earth photography techniques: https://www.energia.ru/en/iss/researches/develop/04.html

Improve space exercise: https://www.energia.ru/en/iss/researches/human/26.html

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/overview.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Hot stars are plagued by giant magnetic spots, ESO data shows

ESO - European Southern Observatory logo.

1 June 2020

Artist’s impression of star plagued by giant magnetic spot

Astronomers using European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes have discovered giant spots on the surface of extremely hot stars hidden in stellar clusters. Not only are these stars plagued by magnetic spots, some also experience superflare events, explosions of energy several million times more energetic than similar eruptions on the Sun. The findings, published today in Nature Astronomy, help astronomers better understand these puzzling stars and open doors to resolving other elusive mysteries of stellar astronomy.

The team, led by Yazan Momany from the INAF Astronomical Observatory of Padua in Italy, looked at a particular type of star known as extreme horizontal branch stars — objects with about half the mass of the Sun but four to five times hotter. “These hot and small stars are special because we know they will bypass one of the final phases in the life of a typical star and will die prematurely,” says Momany, who was previously a staff astronomer at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. “In our Galaxy, these peculiar hot objects are generally associated with the presence of a close companion star.”

Spots on the Sun vs spots on extreme horizontal branch stars (artist's impression)

Surprisingly, however, the vast majority of these extreme horizontal branch stars, when observed in tightly packed stellar groups called globular clusters, do not appear to have companions. The team’s long-term monitoring of these stars, made with ESO telescopes, also revealed that there was something more to these mysterious objects. When looking at three different globular clusters, Momany and his colleagues found that many of the extreme horizontal branch stars within them showed regular changes in their brightness over the course of just a few days to several weeks.

“After eliminating all other scenarios, there was only one remaining possibility to explain their observed brightness variations,” concludes Simone Zaggia, a study co-author from the INAF Astronomical Observatory of Padua in Italy and a former ESO Fellow: “these stars must be plagued by spots!”

Animation of star plagued by giant magnetic spot

Spots on extreme horizontal branch stars appear to be quite different from the dark sunspots on our own Sun, but both are caused by magnetic fields. The spots on these hot, extreme stars are brighter and hotter than the surrounding stellar surface, unlike on the Sun where we see spots as dark stains on the solar surface that are cooler than their surroundings. The spots on extreme horizontal branch stars are also significantly larger than sunspots, covering up to a quarter of the star’s surface. These spots are incredibly persistent, lasting for decades, while individual sunspots are temporary, lasting only a few days to months. As the hot stars rotate, the spots on the surface come and go, causing the visible changes in brightness.

Beyond the variations in brightness due to spots, the team also discovered a couple of extreme horizontal branch stars that showed superflares — sudden explosions of energy and another signpost of the presence of a magnetic field. “They are similar to the flares we see on our own Sun, but ten million times more energetic,” says study co-author Henri Boffin, an astronomer at ESO’s headquarters in Germany. “Such behaviour was certainly not expected and highlights the importance of magnetic fields in explaining the properties of these stars.”

Spots on the Sun vs spots on extreme horizontal branch stars (animation)

After six decades of trying to understand extreme horizontal branch stars, astronomers now have a more complete picture of them. Moreover, this finding could help explain the origin of strong magnetic fields in many white dwarfs, objects that represent the final stage in the life of Sun-like stars and show similarities to extreme horizontal branch stars. “The bigger picture though,” says team member, David Jones, a former ESO Fellow now at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Spain, “is that changes in brightness of all hot stars — from young Sun-like stars to old extreme horizontal branch stars and long-dead white dwarfs — could all be connected. These objects can thus be understood as collectively suffering from magnetic spots on their surfaces.”

To arrive at this result, the astronomers used several instruments on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), including VIMOS, FLAMES and FORS2, as well as OmegaCAM attached to the VLT Survey Telescope at Paranal Observatory. They also employed ULTRACAM on the New Technology Telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, also in Chile. The breakthrough came as the team observed the stars in the near-ultraviolet part of the spectrum, allowing them to reveal the hotter, extreme stars standing out bright amongst the cooler stars in globular clusters.

More information

This research is presented in the paper “A plague of magnetic spots among the hot stars of globular clusters”, published today in Nature Astronomy (doi: 10.1038/s41550-020-1113-4).

The team is composed of Y. Momany (INAF Astronomical Observatory of Padua, Italy [INAF Padua]), S. Zaggia (INAF Padua), M. Montalto (Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padua, Italy [U. Padua]), D. Jones (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and Department of Astrophysics, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain), H.M.J. Boffin (European Southern Observatory, Garching, Germany, S. Cassisi (INAF Astronomical Observatory of Abruzzo and INFN Pisa, Italy), C. Moni Bidin (Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile), M. Gullieuszik (INAF Padua), I. Saviane (European Southern Observatory, Santiago, Chile), L. Monaco (Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Universidad Andreas Bello, Santiago, Chile), E. Mason (INAF Astronomical Observatory of Trieste, Italy), L. Girardi (INAF Padua), V. D’Orazi (INAF Padua), G. Piotto (U. Padua), A.P. Milone (U. Padua), H. Lala (U. Padua), P.B. Stetson (Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, National Research Council, Victoria, Canada), and Y. Beletsky (Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, La Serena, Chile).

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world’s largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

Links:

ESOcast Light 223: Hot Stars are Plagued by Giant Magnetic Spots
https://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso2009a/

Research paper: https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2009/eso2009a.pdf

Photos of the VLT: http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/

Photos of ESO’s survey telescopes, including VST: http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/surveytelescopes/

Photos of ESO’s La Silla Observatory: https://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/lasilla/

For scientists: got a story? Pitch your research: http://eso.org/sci/publications/announcements/sciann17277.html

VLT Survey Telescope: https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/surveytelescopes/vst/

ULTRACAM: https://www.eso.org/public/images/2017_11_16_La_Silla_NTT_ULTRACAM_upr_IMG_2114-CC/?lang

New Technology Telescope: https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/ntt/

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT): https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/

Text, Images Credits: ESO/Bárbara Ferreira/Henri Boffin/INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova/Simone Zaggia/Yazan Al Momany/Instituto de Astrofísia de Canarias (IAC)/David Jones/ESO/L. Calçada, INAF-Padua/S. Zaggia/Videos: ESO/L. Calçada, INAF-Padua/S. Zaggia.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

MAXI J1820+070: Black Hole Outburst Caught on Video

NASA - Chandra X-ray Observatory patch.

June 1, 2020

Astronomers have caught a black hole hurling hot material into space at close to the speed of light. This flare-up was captured in a new movie from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Animation Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Université de Paris/M. Espinasse et al.; Optical/IR:PanSTARRS.

The black hole and its companion star make up a system called MAXI J1820+070, located in our Galaxy about 10,000 light years from Earth. The black hole in MAXI J1820+070 has a mass about eight times that of the Sun, identifying it as a so-called stellar-mass black hole, formed by the destruction of a massive star. (This is in contrast to supermassive black holes that contain millions or billions of times the Sun's mass.)

The companion star orbiting the black hole has about half the mass of the Sun. The black hole's strong gravity pulls material away from the companion star into an X-ray emitting disk surrounding the black hole.

While some of the hot gas in the disk will cross the "event horizon" (the point of no return) and fall into the black hole, some of it is instead blasted away from the black hole in a pair of short beams of material, or jets. These jets are pointed in opposite directions, launched from outside the event horizon along magnetic field lines. The new footage of this black hole's behavior is based on four observations obtained with Chandra in November 2018 and February, May, and June of 2019, and reported in a paper led by Mathilde Espinasse of the Université de Paris.

The main panel of the graphic is a large optical and infrared image of the Milky Way galaxy from the PanSTARRS optical telescope in Hawaii, with the location of MAXI J1820+070 above the plane of the galaxy marked by a cross. The inset shows a movie that cycles through the four Chandra observations, where "day 0" corresponds to the first observation on November 13th, 2018, about four months after the jet's launch. MAXI J1820+070 is the bright X-ray source in the middle of the image and sources of X-rays can be seen moving away from the black hole in jets to the north and south. MAXI J1820+070 is a point source of X-rays, although it appears to be larger than a point source because it is much brighter than the jet sources. The southern jet is too faint to be detected in the May and June 2019 observations.

Just how fast are the jets of material moving away from the black hole? From Earth's perspective, it looks as if the northern jet is moving at 60% the speed of light, while the southern one is traveling at an impossible-sounding 160% of light speed!

This is an example of superluminal motion, a phenomenon that occurs when something travels towards us near the speed of light, along a direction close to our line of sight. This means the object travels almost as quickly towards us as the light it generates, giving the illusion that the jet's motion is more rapid than the speed of light. In the case of MAXI J1820+070, the southern jet is pointing towards us and the northern jet is pointing away from us, so the southern jet appears to be moving faster than the northern one. The actual velocity of the particles in both jets is greater than 80% of the speed of light.

Image Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

Only two other examples of such high-speed expulsions have been seen in X-rays from stellar-mass black holes.

MAXI J1820+070 has also been observed at radio wavelengths by a team led by Joe Bright from the University of Oxford, who previously reported the detection of superluminal motion of compact sources based on radio data alone that extended from the launch of the jets on July 7, 2018 to the end of 2018.

Because the Chandra observations approximately doubled the length of time the jets were followed, a combined analysis of the radio data and the new Chandra data by Espinasse and her team gave more information about the jets. This included evidence that the jets are decelerating as they travel away from the black hole.

Most of the energy in the jets is not converted into radiation, but is instead released when particles in the jets interact with surrounding material. These interactions might be the cause of the jets' deceleration. When the jets collide with surrounding material in interstellar space, shock waves — akin to the sonic booms caused by supersonic aircraft — occur. This process generates particle energies that are higher than that of the Large Hadron Collider.

The researchers estimate that about 400 million billion pounds of material was blown away from the black hole in these two jets launched in July 2018. This amount of mass is comparable to what could be accumulated on the disk around the black hole in the space of a few hours, and is equivalent to about a thousand Halley's Comets or about 500 million times the mass of the Empire State Building.

Studies of MAXI J1820+070 and similar systems promise to teach us more about the jets produced by stellar-mass black holes and how they release their energy once their jets interact with their surroundings.

Chandra X-ray Observatory. Animation Credits: NASA/CXC

Radio observations conducted with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and the MeerKAT array were also used to study MAXI J1820+070's jets.

A paper describing these results is published in the latest edition of The Astrophysical Journal Letters and is available online. The authors of the paper are Mathilde Espinasse and Stéphane Corbel (Université de Paris, Paris, France), Philip Kaaret (University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa), Evangelia Tremou (Université de Paris , Paris, France), Giulia Migliori (Institute of Radio Astronomy of Bologna, Bologna, Italy), Richard M. Plotkin (University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada), Joe Bright (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), John Tomsick (University of California, Berkeley, California), Anastasios Tzioumis (Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO, Epping, Australia), Rob Fender (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK), Jerome A. Orosz (San Diego State University, San Diego, California), Elena Gallo (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan), Jeroen Homan (Eureka Scientific, Oakland, California), Peter G. Jonker (Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands), James C. A. Miller-Jones (Curtin University, Perth, Australia), David M. Russell (New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE), and Sara Motta (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK).

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science and flight operations from Cambridge and Burlington, Massachusetts.

Read more from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory: https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2020/maxij1820/

For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra

Image (mentioned), Animations (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Lee Mohon/Marshall Space Flight Center/Molly Porter/Chandra X-ray Center/Megan Watzke.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Commercial Crew Astronauts Join Expedition 63

ISS - Expedition 63 Mission patch / NASA & SpaceX - Dragon Demo-2 / Behnken & Hurley Mission patch.

May 31, 2020

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Docked at ISS. Image Credit: NASA TV

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour have arrived at the International Space Station to join Expedition 63 Commander and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The crew members first opened the hatch between the space station and Dragon Endeavour at 1:02 p.m. EDT, allowing Hurley and Behnken to enter their new home in space as members of Expedition 63. The five crew members will hold a welcome ceremony next, after which the continuous coverage of the mission that began prior to launch will conclude.

Image above: The Expedition 63 crew has expanded to five members with the arrival of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. (From left) Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner, Chris Cassidy, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. Image Credit: NASA TV.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will hold a news conference at 3:15 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to discuss the successful docking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Johnson Center Director Mark Geyer, International Space Station Program Deputy Manager Kenneth Todd, NASA Commercial Crew Program Deputy Manager Steve Stich, and NASA Astronaut Kjell Lindgren also will participate in the live media briefing broadcast on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

It is the second arrival and autonomous docking to the International Space Station for a Crew Dragon spacecraft and the first time any commercially built spacecraft has delivered astronauts to the orbiting laboratory.

SpaceX Demo-2 Crew Dragon hatch opening

Known as NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2, the mission is an end-to-end test flight to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including launch, in-orbit, docking and landing operations and pave the way for its certification for regular crew flights to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

For operational missions, Crew Dragon will be able to launch as many as four crew members and carry more than 220 pounds of cargo, enabling the expansion of the inhabitants of the space station, increasing the time dedicated to research in the unique microgravity environment, and returning more science back to Earth.

Related articles:

Crew Dragon Docks to Space Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/crew-dragon-docks-to-space-station.html

LIFTOFF! NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Launches the Commercial Crew Era
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/liftoff-nasas-spacex-demo-2-launches.html

Related links:

Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html

NASA TV: http://www.nasa.gov/live

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Norah Moran/NASA TV/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

CASC - Long March-2D launches Gaofen-9 02 and HEAD-4 satellites

CASC - China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation logo.

May 31, 2020

Long March-2D launches Gaofen-9 02 and HEAD-4 satellites

A Long March-2D rocket launched two satellites, Gaofen-9 02 and HEAD-4, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu Province, northwest China, on 31 May 2020, at 08:53 UTC (16:53 local time). According to official sources, the satellites entered their planned orbits.

Long March-2D launches Gaofen-9 02 and HEAD-4 satellites

Gaofen-9 02 is an optical remote sensing satellite capable of providing photographs with a resolution of about one meter.  HEAD-4, developed by Beijing-based HEAD Aerospace Technology Co. Ltd., can carry out on-orbit information collection, including that on ships and aircraft, and the Internet of Things.

Gaofen-9 02 and HEAD-4 satellites released in orbit

A Chinese Long March 2D launches China’s second Gaofen 9-series Earth observation satellite.

For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC): http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html

Images, Video, Text, Credits: China CASC/Central Television (CCTV)/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Crew Dragon Docks to Space Station

NASA & SpaceX - First Crewed Flight DM-2 Mission patch.

May 31, 2020

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour have arrived at the International Space Station.

Image above: NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (foreground) and Bob Behnken call down to mission controllers for a report on their second flight day abnoard the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Image Credit: NASA TV.

The Crew Dragon arrived at the station’s Harmony port, docking at 10:16 a.m. EDT while the spacecraft were flying about 262 miles above the northern border of China and Mongolia. Following soft capture, 12 hooks were closed to complete a hard capture at 10:27 a.m. Teams now will begin conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for hatch opening scheduled for approximately 12:45 p.m.

Image above: The SpaceX Crew Dragon is pictured about 30 meters away from the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA TV.

NASA Television and the agency’s website are continuing to provide live continuous coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission.

SpaceX Crew Dragon docking at ISS. Animation Credit: SpaceX

Behnken and Hurley made history Saturday as they became the first Americans to launch on an American rocket from American soil to the space station in nearly a decade. Their successful docking completed many of the test objectives of the SpaceX Demo-2 mission, and the rest will be completed as the spacecraft operates as part of the space station, then at the conclusion of its mission undocks and descends for a parachute landing in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX Demo-2 Crew Dragon docking

Aboard the space station, Expedition 63 Commander and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner are preparing to welcome Behnken and Hurley aboard the station.

Related articles:

Tour from Space: Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft on Its Way to the Space Station
http://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/tour-from-space-inside-spacex-crew.html

LIFTOFF! NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Launches the Commercial Crew Era
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/liftoff-nasas-spacex-demo-2-launches.html

NASA and SpaceX Target May 30 Demo-2 Launch, Continue to Monitor Weather
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasa-and-spacex-target-may-30-demo-2.html

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2: Delta Launch Readiness Review Concludes, Teams Remain ‘Go’ for Technical Readiness
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasas-spacex-demo-2-delta-launch.html

NASA, SpaceX Prepare for Second Demo-2 Launch Attempt Tomorrow, May 30
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasa-spacex-prepare-for-second-demo-2.html

Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Rescheduled for Saturday, May 30
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/launch-of-nasas-spacex-demo-2.html

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Launch Rescheduled to Saturday Due to Weather
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasas-spacex-demo-2-launch-rescheduled.html

Related links:

NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Expedition 63: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition63/index.html

Commercial Crew Program: http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Norah Moran/NASA TV/SciNews.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Tour from Space: Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft on Its Way to the Space Station

NASA & SpaceX - First Crewed Flight DM-2 Mission patch.

May 31,2020

In this video, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley take viewers on a tour of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that will take them on a 19-hour-journey to their new home in orbit.

Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft on Its Way to the Space Station

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Pad 39A at 3:22 p.m. EDT on May 30 with the astronauts aboard for a mission to the orbiting laboratory. Crew Dragon will perform a series of phasing maneuvers to gradually approach and autonomously dock with the International Space Station on Sunday, May 31, at approximately 10:29 a.m. EDT (04:29 GMT).

Crew Dragon Separates from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, Sets Course for International Space Station

Crew Dragon Separates from SpaceX Falcon 9; Sets Course for International Space Station

Video above: The SpaceX Crew Dragon, with astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken on board, has separated from the Falcon 9 rocket after launching at 3:22 p.m. EDT on May 30, 2020 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After Crew Dragon separates from the second stage, a series of phasing maneuvers will be performed for the spacecraft to gradually approach and autonomously dock with the space station on Sunday, May 31, at approximately 10:29 a.m. EDT (04:29 GMT).

Image above: Coverage of Expedition 63 flight control team with Flight Director Zebulon Scoville during SpaceX DM-2 launch in Mission Control Center station flight control room FCR-1 at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image Credits: NASA/Bill Stafford.

International Space Station (ISS). Animation Credit: NASA

This marks the first launch of astronauts from U.S. soil since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, this will be SpaceX’s final flight test, paving the way for NASA to certify the crew transportation system for regular, crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory.

Related articles:

LIFTOFF! NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Launches the Commercial Crew Era
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/liftoff-nasas-spacex-demo-2-launches.html

NASA and SpaceX Target May 30 Demo-2 Launch, Continue to Monitor Weather
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasa-and-spacex-target-may-30-demo-2.html

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2: Delta Launch Readiness Review Concludes, Teams Remain ‘Go’ for Technical Readiness
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasas-spacex-demo-2-delta-launch.html

NASA, SpaceX Prepare for Second Demo-2 Launch Attempt Tomorrow, May 30
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasa-spacex-prepare-for-second-demo-2.html

Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Rescheduled for Saturday, May 30
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/launch-of-nasas-spacex-demo-2.html

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Launch Rescheduled to Saturday Due to Weather
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/05/nasas-spacex-demo-2-launch-rescheduled.html

Related links:

NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Commercial Crew Program: http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Videos, Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/NASA TV/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch