Years ago, it was a laughable idea but the first private space flight will happen in just a few minutes and in America.
The groundbreaking event will be available to watch live thanks to NASA:
It will be the first manned space launch on U.S. soil since 2011 and it will be the first time a private spacecraft will carry astronauts into space and will bring them to the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA's Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be riding the Crew Dragon, the newest SpaceX’s capsule and carried past the limits of earth by a Falcon 9 rocket. This is the first joint partnership between NASA and a U.S. aerospace company. The achievements today will change the future of space travel forever.
The takeoff is currently targeted for 4:33pm EST on Wednesday, May 27th. While this may change if the weather is not favorable, NASA and SpaceX will also be watching the weather all across the Atlantic ocean and have planned possible contingency plans including rescheduling or emergency landings.
If the flight is postponed, SpaceX and NASA have agreed to a rain-date of Saturday, May 30th.
NASA will be covering the event live, as it happens. Their livestream began and noon and will continue continuously until the Crew Dragon makes it safely to the ISS which should be at promptly 11:29am on Thursday.
SpaceX will also host it's own livestream coverage of the revolutionary launch here:
CD Media has previously covered the American commercial space launch company which recently has test flown its Crew Dragon capsule in a bid to show NASA it can safely launch astronauts into space. The flight was called Demo-1 and docked with the ISS on March 3rd.
While there were no humans on board, there was a dummy named Ripley that flew on the mission. Ripley, named after the main character in the 1979 movie “Alien,” is equipped with sensors that give SpaceX engineers an idea of what the journey to and from the International Space Station (ISS) is like, reported CNBC.
“Today’s successful launch marks a new chapter in American excellence, getting us closer to once again flying American Astronauts on American rockets from American soil,” wrote NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine in a statement.
“This first launch of a space system designed for humans built and operated by a commercial company through a public-private partnership is a revolutionary step on our path to get humans to the Moon, Mars and beyond.”
“I’m a little emotionally exhausted,” Musk said afterwards. “It was super stressful. But it worked, so far.”
Godspeed, and take the red pill.
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