NASA to Host Preview Briefings, Interviews for First Crew Launch with SpaceXWith the first mission to return human spaceflight launches to American soil now targeted to lift off May 27, NASA will highlight the historic flight with a series of news conferences Friday, May 1, that will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. In addition, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, who will serve as crew for the mission, will be available for remote interviews.NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a trio of media briefings beginning at 11 a.m. EDT May 1, to preview NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. The flight test with NASA astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off on a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.All media participation in these news conferences and interviews will be remote; no media will be accommodated at any NASA site due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To participate in the briefings by phone or to request a remote interview with the crew members, reporters must email [email protected] no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 28.The May 1 briefings and participants include (all times EDT):11 a.m. – Commercial Crew and International Space Station overview news conference with the following participants:• NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine• Kathy Lueders, program manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center• Kirk Shireman, program manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center• Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer, SpaceX12:30 p.m. – Mission Overview news conference with the following participants:• Steve Stich, deputy manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center• Zeb Scoville, NASA Demo-2 flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, NASA’s Johnson Space Center• Benji Reed, director of crew mission management, SpaceX2 p.m. – Crew news conference with the following participants:• Astronaut Robert Behnken, joint operations commander, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission• Astronaut Douglas Hurley, spacecraft commander, NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission3:30 p.m. – Round-Robin interviews with the crew members:• Behnken and Hurley will be available for a limited number of remote interviewsFollowing a May 27 launch, Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to arrive at the space station May 28 to join Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and flight engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.Behnken will be the joint operations commander for the Demo-2 mission, responsible for activities such as rendezvous, docking and undocking, as well as Demo-2 activities while the spacecraft is docked to the space station. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000, Behnken completed two space shuttle flights. He flew on STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010 and conducted three spacewalks during each mission. Born in St. Anne, Missouri, he has bachelor’s degrees in physics and mechanical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and earned a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Before joining NASA, Behnken was a flight test engineer with the U.S. Air Force.Hurley will be the spacecraft commander for Demo-2, responsible for activities such as launch, landing and recovery. Selected as an astronaut in 2000, Hurley has completed two spaceflights. He served as pilot and lead robotics operator for both STS‐127 in July 2009 and STS‐135, the final space shuttle mission, in July 2011. The New York native was born in Endicott, but considers Apalachin his hometown. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Tulane University in Louisiana and graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. Before joining NASA, he was a fighter pilot and test pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps.
It’s official! @AstroBehnken and I are going to space next month and are extremely grateful to the @SpaceX and @Commercial_Crew teams continuing to do incredible work during extremely challenging circumstances. We are excited to help open the next era of human space flight.
To be fair, this is just a pre-launch briefing. NASA KSC has reached out to say it's trying to accommodate in-person reporting for the launch. What that looks like remains to be seen, but all hope is not lost for launch coverage.
An important commercial crew update from @NASA: @SpaceX still needs to perform one additional parachute drop test AND resolve the joint NASA investigation into a Falcon 9 engine failure before the May 27 crew test flight launch can take place.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1252985622219960327"Can you tell us what happened with Merlin on last starlink mission?"Quote from: Elon MuskSmall amount of isopropyl alcohol (cleaning fluid) was trapped in a sensor dead leg & ignited in flight
Small amount of isopropyl alcohol (cleaning fluid) was trapped in a sensor dead leg & ignited in flight
Speaking of Demo-2, the crew for that mission recently completed all training at SpaceX's factory in Hawthorne. Pretty much all Houston and Florida now through launch.
Safety panel concludes May launch of commercial crew test flight is feasibleby Jeff Foust — April 23, 2020WASHINGTON — A NASA safety panel believes the agency’s plan to launch a SpaceX commercial crew test flight in late May is feasible, although some issues still need to be resolved before the launch.NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), meeting by teleconference April 23, said it was unable to talk with NASA’s commercial crew program during its quarterly meeting, which was held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. The panel’s chair, Patricia Sanders, said that scheduling issues prevented a meeting, but that her committee planned to hold a “part 2” of their quarterly meeting in early May to discuss commercial crew and other topics not taken up this week.
Jim Bridenstine, responding to a question from @mirikramer on DM-2 crowd sizes, says "we are asking people to join us in this launch but to do so from home. We are asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center."
So here is what GO Navigator is up to just offshore... With thanks to u/Andsurf for capturing the vessel testing with a mock-up Dragon capsule.https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/g7db0k/go_navigator_dragging_dragon_capsule_cocoa_beach/
GO Navigator is back from capsule practice. #SpaceXFleet #SpaceX @SpaceXFleet
Sounds like they are really exercising the capsule with test maneuvers. Got pictures on Tuesday.
Weather permitting, SpaceX will conduct its final parachute test for the commercial crew program on Friday.
NASA's Kennedy Space CenterScheduled for 30 Apr 2020A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Hear from two subject matter experts as they discuss the mission set to launch May 27.
Why our Launch of the SpaceX Demo-2 Mission to the International Space Station is EssentialOn April 17, NASA and SpaceX announced that the upcoming flight test of the new Crew Dragon spacecraft with our astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley is now scheduled for lift off no earlier than 4:32 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 27. The launch of the Demo-2 mission will take place from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Have no doubt about it: I am looking forward to the launch. It will be historic and momentous. It also is critically important.The Crew Dragon’s destination is the International Space Station. For almost 20 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. This unique laboratory in space has hosted more than 2,800 research investigations from scientists spanning 108 countries and areas, enabling us to prepare to land the first woman and next man on the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for the human exploration of Mars. As a global endeavor, 239 people from 19 countries have visited the space station.The station’s design requires humans living aboard to maintain it, operate it, and upgrade it; thus, International Space Station operations, including commercial resupply and commercial crew, are essential to the mission. A full crew is vital to safely maintain the station, both internally and externally, and continue the important research work that enables us to move human exploration farther into our solar system. To maximize our use of the station with the science we can conduct, we need four crew members operating in the U.S. segment of the station. When we have achieved that, we’ve been able to exceed 100 hours of research time in a week. Certification of the spaceflight systems of our Commercial Crew providers Boeing and SpaceX is critical to our ability to sustain a full crew and maximize our use of this singular national and global resource.We currently are supporting the station with the bare minimum – only one NASA astronaut is aboard for Expedition 63, Chris Cassidy. As a result, we have extended the planned length of the Demo-2 mission from a standard test flight to ensure Behnken and Hurley can participate as Expedition 63 crew members to safely maintain and operate the station. Among the work that will await their arrival is upgrading the space station’s power system with new batteries due to arrive in May aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 (HTV-9) cargo spacecraft launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Without the presence of Behnken and Hurley, we otherwise would likely defer such an operation until additional NASA crew members are available.As the final flight test for SpaceX, the Demo-2 mission will validate the company’s crew transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, and operational capabilities. This also will be the first time NASA astronauts will test the spacecraft systems in orbit. Certifying the Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 for the operational rotation of space station crew members is critical to our continued and ongoing use of this invaluable asset that is important not only to the United States but also to our international partners across the globe.NASA is committed to fulfilling its obligations to the station’s international partners as we work to return human spaceflight capability to American soil. Our commercial crew providers are in the final stages of development and testing of new human space transportation systems. To ensure the agency keeps its commitment for safe operations via a continuous U.S. presence aboard the International Space Station until these new capabilities are routinely available, NASA is in negotiations with the State Space Corporation Roscosmos to purchase one additional Soyuz seat for a launch this fall. NASA’s contract with Roscosmos will meet the recommendations of several advisory committees including the GAO, NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and the NASA Office of the Inspector General.As the workforce personnel essential to supporting this launch and the Demo-2 mission and the International Space Station operations continue to work, I want to assure you we are taking the necessary steps to protect and care for the NASA and SpaceX teams. NASA is closely adhering to the CDC’s recommendations on infection control for the coronavirus. Behnken and Hurley will be quarantined for two weeks prior to their launch, and we are conducting our Demo-2 preview briefings today with all media participating remotely. The safety of our workforce is our top priority. We will not ask employees and contractors to perform work if we do not have the highest confidence that it is safe to do so.We of course wish circumstances would allow us to open the gates at Kennedy Space Center to those who want to be there on launch day – nevertheless, we are working to enable the world to join us virtually for this incredible moment and essential mission.Author Jim BridenstinePosted on May 1, 2020Categories Humans in Space
NASA’s first SpaceX Demo-2 panel, a program overview with:- Administrator Jim Bridenstine- Commercial Crew manager Kathy Lueders- ISS manager Kirk Shireman- SpaceX president Gwynne ShotwellThread:
Bridenstine: "This is a new generation, a new era in spaceflight ... SpaceX has been an amazing partner of NASA now for many years."
Kirk Shireman, ISS program manager: Had successful flight review yesterday. #SpaceX #Demo2 #CrewDragon #ISS
SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell: 1000s of SpaceX employees focused on this mission. Still some technical items to close out, including final Crew Dragon parachute test later today.
Crew Dragon for Crew-1 (SpaceX's first operational crewed mission) along with a crew training picture.
NASA will conduct its agency-wide flight readiness review for the Crew Dragon flight on May 20th.
Lueders: Yesterday was operational readiness review. Flight readiness reviews coming up:SpaceX on May 8NASA on May 11Full review on May 20
NASA commercial crew manager Kathy Lueders says NASA has cleared the Merlin engines for the Demo-2 launch after the anomaly on the March F9 launch. working through reviews leading up to agency flight readiness review on May 20.
