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Summary
- NASA and SpaceX successfully launched Dragon's first operational crew mission from the Kennedy Space Centre of NASA in Florida.
- The launch marks the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight for NASA and is the historic milestone for SpaceX to develop spacecraft that can carry people to orbit.
- Resilience reached Orbit post an hour of launch. Further updates would be provided from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
At EST 7:27 PM (Sunday 15 November 2020) the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft "Resilience" lifted off four astronauts to the International Space Station, making a historic launch from the Kennedy Space Centre of NASA in Florida.
The four astronauts that made history are Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker from NASA and Soichi Noguchi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The launch marks the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight for NASA. It is a historic milestone for SpaceX achieved after years of effort to develop and test its spacecraft for regular human spaceflight.
The reusable first stage Falcon 9 booster landed safely within 10 minutes after launch on a SpaceX droneship stationed in the Atlantic. The launch marks the utilisation of a reusable rocket for the first time in a mission. The reusable rocket is expected to be used again during the next operational flight of the SpaceX's Crew Dragon, Crew-2.
Falcon 9 is the world's first orbital-class reusable, two-stage rocket that is designed & manufactured by SpaceX for the consistent and safe carrying of individuals plus payloads into Earth’s orbit and beyond. Its reusability feature enables SpaceX to re-fly the costliest components of the rocket, which sequentially pushes down the expense of space access.
Founded in the year 2002 by Elon Musk, SpaceX designs and manufactures advanced rockets and spacecrafts with an aim to transform space transportation.
Brief Introduction of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 Astronaut
Mike Hopkins: Michael S. Hopkins was chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 2009 and is an expert of one space mission. In this assignment, he is Spacecraft Commander in SpaceX's First Operational Mission/Crew-1.
Victor Glover: Victor Glover is a pilot in this SpaceX's First Operational Mission/Crew-1 program. At present, he is training for the first operational flight.
Shannon Walker Shannon Walker is the mission specialist. In 2004, she was selected as an astronaut by NASA. She is an expert one spaceflight.
Soichi Noguch: Soichi Noguch is also the mission specialist in this program and was chosen as an astronaut candidate by the National Space Development Agency of Japan in 1996. He is an expert of two space missions.
