Also from the Ars article:QuoteNASA would like to minimize the time Cassidy remains the lone US astronaut on board the orbiting laboratory, so there is discussion of extending Hurley and Behnken's mission to six weeks, or even three months. If that happens, then the two astronauts would need some more space-station related training. Specifically, NASA would like Behnken to be capable of conducting a spacewalk if the need arises. Behnken has conducted six spacewalks over two shuttle missions, but the last was in February, 2010. He will need some spacewalk proficiency training if the Dragon mission is extended.
NASA would like to minimize the time Cassidy remains the lone US astronaut on board the orbiting laboratory, so there is discussion of extending Hurley and Behnken's mission to six weeks, or even three months. If that happens, then the two astronauts would need some more space-station related training. Specifically, NASA would like Behnken to be capable of conducting a spacewalk if the need arises. Behnken has conducted six spacewalks over two shuttle missions, but the last was in February, 2010. He will need some spacewalk proficiency training if the Dragon mission is extended.
Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken continued Space Station and spacewalk training this week for their upcoming flight on NASA's SpaceX DM-2 Commercial Crew mission.
It is coming up quickly! Still lots to do though. The last week @NASA_Johnson included EVA and robotics training as well as medical testing and training. We also had a day of @SpaceX lessons here in Houston. Headed back to California next week. More #CrewDragon training!
Yep, @DJSnM , @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken are being trained for a long-duration mission as #ISS crewmembers. This is a change from the original plan to do a min duration test flight, driven by @NASA needs to staff the ISS.
SpaceX Demo-2 mission will be long duration, a significant change for the company’s first crewed flight twitter.com/astro_g_dogg/status/1231644054095425536 …
Hi, a bit ahead of the news are you. Extra training for possible longer duration ISS stay, yes. Is that going to happen? Maybe, but no decision yet, says NASA
Reisman said they’re training “for a long-duration mission,” not a possible one, and said “This is a change from the original plan to do a min duration test flight, driven by @NASA needs to staff the ISS.”I’m not sure why the agency hasn’t announced but that’s quite definitive.
Yeah, NASA is nothing of not nuanced. Just because someone is training for something doesn't mean it's going to happen. NASA doesn't make decisions until it has too -- preserves operational flexibility. The training is new, the flight assignment hasn't happened. See the diff?
PS It wouldn't be NASA if the agency DIDN'T do long-duration training for Demo-2 crew, again for aforementioned operational flexibility reasons. Starliner flight test crew undergoing similiar training and have been for a while but who knows what's going to end up with that?
Official statement from NASA as to whether Demo-2 will be a short test flight or long duration flight.
SpaceX teams are currently in final preparations for another Crew Dragon flight – the one that will fly astronauts @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug and return human spaceflight capabilities to the U.S.
Shotwell: SpaceX is looking at a May time frame for the company's first launch of @NASA_Astronauts on Crew Dragon
SpaceX on track to launch first NASA astronauts in May, president saysPUBLISHED TUE, MAR 10 20203:54 PM EDTMichael SheetzKEY POINTSSpaceX is “gunning for May” to launch NASA astronauts on its first spaceflight with crew, president and COO Gwynne Shotwell said Tuesday.She noted that the length of the mission is still under consideration, saying its “kind of TBD right now.”Shotwell also noted that SpaceX is planning to reuse its Crew Dragon capsules, a decision that was in doubt previously.
As the coronavirus spreads, NASA limits access to astronauts scheduled to fly on SpaceX's first spaceship for peoplehttps://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-nasa-limits-commercial-crew-astronaut-contact-covid-19-outbreak-2020-3
I'm told that the prime crew for SpaceX's Demo-2 mission are continuing to train this week for a May launch. Training is complicated because it involves work in Houston, California, and Florida. Lots of uncertainty about what happens as the COVID-19 crises deepens in the U.S.
https://twitter.com/free_space/status/1242447475459395584Quote NASA reps from Commercial Crew program join @SpaceX investigation into premature shutdown of one of the 9 Merlin engines on the Falcon 9 that launched 3/18 on Starlink-6 mission.
NASA reps from Commercial Crew program join @SpaceX investigation into premature shutdown of one of the 9 Merlin engines on the Falcon 9 that launched 3/18 on Starlink-6 mission.
From NASA: 1/2 According to the CCtCap contracts, SpaceX is required to make available to NASA all data and resulting reports. SpaceX, with NASA’s concurrence, would need to implement any corrective actions found during the investigation related
From NASA 2/2: to its commercial crew work prior to its flight test with astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA and SpaceX are holding the current mid-to-late May launch timeframe, and would adjust the date based on review of the data, if appropriate.
Quote March 31, 2020NASA, SpaceX Simulate Upcoming Crew Mission with AstronautsJoint teams from NASA and SpaceX continue making progress on the first flight test with astronauts to the International Space Station by completing a series of mission simulations from launch to landing. The mission, known as Demo-2, is a close mirror of the company’s uncrewed flight test to station in March 2019, but this time with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).Over the last several months, key members of flight control teams working from NASA’s Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers and SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, simulated different phases of the upcoming mission while the Demo-2 astronaut crew practiced procedures from inside a realistic simulator of Crew Dragon.“The simulations were a great opportunity to practice procedures and to coordinate decision-making for the mission management team, especially with respect to weather,” said Michael Hess, manager of Operations Integration for CCP. “Simulation supervisors do a great job at picking cases that really make the team think and discuss.”Recent simulations saw teams execute timelines from hatch closure to undocking with the space station — as well as a free flight in preparation for re-entry and splashdown. In March, the control teams and crew ran through a simulated mission starting at prelaunch and continuing through ascent and eventual rendezvous with the station.This recent sim makes the excitement all the more tangible, especially for the greater NASA team.“What’s happening in commercial crew is a big deal,” Hess said. “It will be the first time to launch astronauts from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011, and it will be the first time since STS-1 that we will launch astronauts in a new spacecraft. This new spacecraft, Crew Dragon, was designed and built by SpaceX, not by NASA and traditional contractor partnerships — another first. Bob (Behnken) and Doug (Hurley) will definitely be earning their spacecraft test pilot wings with this mission. Also, the Space Station Program is really looking forward to another way to rotate crews to station to perform science and experiments to benefit all.”As the countdown clock winds down, Crew Dragon is undergoing final testing and prelaunch processing in a SpaceX facility on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. All the activity is also kicking off “more simulations, final crew training and flight readiness reviews to ensure all of the mission systems and subsystems are ready for a crewed test flight,” Hess noted.When Crew Dragon launches atop a Falcon 9 rocket with Behnken and Hurley strapped inside as early as mid-to-late May, it will herald a new era for human spaceflight, enabling greater access to low-Earth orbit and destinations beyond with the help of commercial partners.The Demo-2 crew is proceeding with its scheduled training activities. Astronaut trainers, along with all NASA employees, are closely adhering to CDC recommendations on infection control for the coronavirus. As all NASA centers are currently operating in a mode that requires any non-mission-essential work to be done remotely, the number of employees in contact with the crew is limited.Last Updated: March 31, 2020Editor: Danielle SempsrottImage caption:Quote On Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, SpaceX teams in Firing Room 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the company's Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, along with NASA flight controllers in Mission Control Houston, executed a full simulation of launch and docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley (front) participating in SpaceX's flight simulator.Credits: SpaceXhttps://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-spacex-simulate-upcoming-crew-mission-with-astronauts
March 31, 2020NASA, SpaceX Simulate Upcoming Crew Mission with AstronautsJoint teams from NASA and SpaceX continue making progress on the first flight test with astronauts to the International Space Station by completing a series of mission simulations from launch to landing. The mission, known as Demo-2, is a close mirror of the company’s uncrewed flight test to station in March 2019, but this time with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).Over the last several months, key members of flight control teams working from NASA’s Johnson and Kennedy Space Centers and SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, simulated different phases of the upcoming mission while the Demo-2 astronaut crew practiced procedures from inside a realistic simulator of Crew Dragon.“The simulations were a great opportunity to practice procedures and to coordinate decision-making for the mission management team, especially with respect to weather,” said Michael Hess, manager of Operations Integration for CCP. “Simulation supervisors do a great job at picking cases that really make the team think and discuss.”Recent simulations saw teams execute timelines from hatch closure to undocking with the space station — as well as a free flight in preparation for re-entry and splashdown. In March, the control teams and crew ran through a simulated mission starting at prelaunch and continuing through ascent and eventual rendezvous with the station.This recent sim makes the excitement all the more tangible, especially for the greater NASA team.“What’s happening in commercial crew is a big deal,” Hess said. “It will be the first time to launch astronauts from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011, and it will be the first time since STS-1 that we will launch astronauts in a new spacecraft. This new spacecraft, Crew Dragon, was designed and built by SpaceX, not by NASA and traditional contractor partnerships — another first. Bob (Behnken) and Doug (Hurley) will definitely be earning their spacecraft test pilot wings with this mission. Also, the Space Station Program is really looking forward to another way to rotate crews to station to perform science and experiments to benefit all.”As the countdown clock winds down, Crew Dragon is undergoing final testing and prelaunch processing in a SpaceX facility on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. All the activity is also kicking off “more simulations, final crew training and flight readiness reviews to ensure all of the mission systems and subsystems are ready for a crewed test flight,” Hess noted.When Crew Dragon launches atop a Falcon 9 rocket with Behnken and Hurley strapped inside as early as mid-to-late May, it will herald a new era for human spaceflight, enabling greater access to low-Earth orbit and destinations beyond with the help of commercial partners.The Demo-2 crew is proceeding with its scheduled training activities. Astronaut trainers, along with all NASA employees, are closely adhering to CDC recommendations on infection control for the coronavirus. As all NASA centers are currently operating in a mode that requires any non-mission-essential work to be done remotely, the number of employees in contact with the crew is limited.Last Updated: March 31, 2020Editor: Danielle Sempsrott
On Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, SpaceX teams in Firing Room 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the company's Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, along with NASA flight controllers in Mission Control Houston, executed a full simulation of launch and docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley (front) participating in SpaceX's flight simulator.Credits: SpaceX
The worm is back! When the @SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off carrying @NASA_Astronauts aboard #CrewDragon, it will sport the iconic symbol to mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil. More: go.nasa.gov/3bPc7sT #TheWormIsBack
KSC-20200330-PH-SPX01_0001 On Monday, March 30, 2020 at a SpaceX processing facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, SpaceX successfully completed a fully integrated test of critical crew flight hardware ahead of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission to the International Space Station for NASA's Commercial Crew Program; the first flight test with astronauts onboard the spacecraft. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley participated in the test, which included flight suit leak checks, spacecraft sound verification, display panel and cargo bin inspections, seat hardware rotations, and more. Photo credit: SpaceX
How NASA and SpaceX plan to launch astronauts in May despite a pandemicPUBLISHED FRI, APR 3 20202:30 PM EDTMichael Sheetz@THESHEETZTWEETZKEY POINTSNASA and SpaceX are moving forward with Demo-2, with the company planning to launch astronauts in late May despite the coronavirus crisis sweeping the nation.“We need access to the International Space Station from the United States of America ... it’s essential for our country to have that capability,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told CNBC.Bridenstine said that the agency is “making sure that we’re practicing all of our social distancing measures,” with employees using personal protective equipment and working in rotating shifts.
He said that NASA and SpaceX feel “pretty confident” that it will launch without a major delay, as “we’re working through the coronavirus pandemic.” He admitted that the rapidly evolving crisis means “we don’t know what the outcome is going to be” but said that “but if it gets delayed a little bit, we’re going to be OK with that.”
“Depending on when we launch they’re going to be up there for probably two to three months,” Bridenstine said. Bridenstine explained that the plan is to bring Behnken and Hurley back a month before Crew-1
