Unlike the cargo Dragon, which is grappled by a robotic arm, this uncrewed test flight for our NASA Commercial Crew Program will dock autonomously.
Watch live at 3:30 a.m. EST to see a brand-new spacecraft’s first-ever arrival at the station: https://go.nasa.gov/2IPCG7P
A portion of NASA’s $21.5 billion 2019 budget is for developing advanced space power and propulsion technology. NASA will spend $176 to $217 million on maturing new technology. There are projects that NASA has already been working on and others that NASA will start and try to complete. There will be propulsion, robotics, materials and other capabilities. Space technology received $926.9 million in NASA’s 2019 budget.
NASA’s space technology projects look interesting but ten times more resources devoted to advancing technological capability if the NASA budget and priorities were changed.
The Air Force had said there was about a 20% chance that the launch would be delayed because of bad weather. But the 23-story Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on time on Thursday.
After the booster’s landing, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted: “Highest reentry heating to date. Burning metal sparks from base heat shield visible in landing video.”
You can watch the mission and landing, narrated by SpaceX staff, here, though this clip shows the booster’s heat shield burning off.
It’s finally happening. Nearly 8 years after the final space shuttle flight, a crew-capable spacecraft is once again ready to launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is scheduled to blast off for a 6-day, uncrewed test flight on 2 March at 02:49 EST (07:49 UTC). If all goes well, the spacecraft will dock at the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 March around 06:00 EST (11:00 UTC) and stay there until 8 March, when it returns to Earth and splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast.
RD: Is that because the focus right now is so much on getting there? EM: Yeah yeah, you need to get there. That’s a big deal. I think Starship will also be good for creating a base on the moon. We’ll probably have a base on the moon before going to Mars.
The SpaceX CEO on food, fuel, and the risk of vaporization.
