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- TL;DR
- Crewed spaceflight returns to the US
It doesn't happen every day decade that people are being launched to orbit in a new spacecraft . The last time it happened was 2003 (Shenzhou), and the last time before that was the Space Shuttle in 1981. The next time will be in 12 hours, if the weather stays good[/size]. And for the first time it is a private spacecraft . Going to orbit is no longer the exclusive domain of governments. You can call SpaceX if you want a ride (and have maybe 100 million dollars)[/size].
The first crewed launch of Dragon 2 is scheduled for today 20:33 UTC, in 11.5 hours. There is a detailed timeline here. The crew will enter Dragon 2.5 hours before take-off, fueling the rocket will begin 35 minutes before. After take-off the astronauts will need 9 minutes to reach orbit and about 19 hours to reach the ISS. The largest concern currently is the weather, the latest forecast sees a 60% chance that the weather will be good. If the launch needs to be delayed there are backup dates 3 and 4 days later.
Live coverage is about everywhere, most will start a few hours before the launch. NASA, SpaceX will have one, at Spaceflight Now, from the "Everyday Astronaut", from "Space Videos", from Florida Today
It hasn't been decided yet how long the crew will stay at the ISS, but the general expectation is 1-3 months. NASA has suggested to make the first routine flight (for long-term stays at the ISS) end of August, this demonstration mission should land before that.
There is a long list of conditions for the weather (that page is a summary) - for the launch site, but also for sites where the astronauts might land in case of an abort during the launch.
Historic coincidences: Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will launch from same pad as the last Shuttle launch in 2011. The crew of that Shuttle launch left a US flag on the ISS, to be returned by the next crewed flight from the US. One of the crew members of that last Shuttle launch? Doug Hurley. He can now pick up the flag again. Oh, it's also the pad used for all Apollo flights apart from Apollo 10, and for the first Shuttle launch.
The crew will enter Dragon before the rocket is fueled. It allows SpaceX to load colder - more dense - propellant and launch while it is still cold, which means the rocket takes off with more propellant and more thrust, so it can put more mass into orbit while still recovering its first stage. This is an unusual procedure, and NASA was initially concerned about it. There are many things that can go wrong during fueling. On the other hand: Their capsule has an abort system that can get the astronauts away from the rocket quickly if they are in danger. This procedure also means they don't need astronauts and support crew to be outside near the fully fueled rocket (without an abort system).
The first crewed launch of Dragon 2 is scheduled for today 20:33 UTC, in 11.5 hours. There is a detailed timeline here. The crew will enter Dragon 2.5 hours before take-off, fueling the rocket will begin 35 minutes before. After take-off the astronauts will need 9 minutes to reach orbit and about 19 hours to reach the ISS. The largest concern currently is the weather, the latest forecast sees a 60% chance that the weather will be good. If the launch needs to be delayed there are backup dates 3 and 4 days later.
Live coverage is about everywhere, most will start a few hours before the launch. NASA, SpaceX will have one, at Spaceflight Now, from the "Everyday Astronaut", from "Space Videos", from Florida Today
It hasn't been decided yet how long the crew will stay at the ISS, but the general expectation is 1-3 months. NASA has suggested to make the first routine flight (for long-term stays at the ISS) end of August, this demonstration mission should land before that.
There is a long list of conditions for the weather (that page is a summary) - for the launch site, but also for sites where the astronauts might land in case of an abort during the launch.
Historic coincidences: Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will launch from same pad as the last Shuttle launch in 2011. The crew of that Shuttle launch left a US flag on the ISS, to be returned by the next crewed flight from the US. One of the crew members of that last Shuttle launch? Doug Hurley. He can now pick up the flag again. Oh, it's also the pad used for all Apollo flights apart from Apollo 10, and for the first Shuttle launch.
The crew will enter Dragon before the rocket is fueled. It allows SpaceX to load colder - more dense - propellant and launch while it is still cold, which means the rocket takes off with more propellant and more thrust, so it can put more mass into orbit while still recovering its first stage. This is an unusual procedure, and NASA was initially concerned about it. There are many things that can go wrong during fueling. On the other hand: Their capsule has an abort system that can get the astronauts away from the rocket quickly if they are in danger. This procedure also means they don't need astronauts and support crew to be outside near the fully fueled rocket (without an abort system).
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