WASHINGTON, Feb 23, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – NASA on Friday gave SpaceX the green
light to test a new crew capsule by first sending an unmanned craft with a
life-sized mannequin to the International Space Station.
“We’re go for launch, we’re go for docking,” said William Gerstenmaier,
the associate administrator with NASA Human Exploration and Operations.
A Falcon 9 rocket from the private US-based SpaceX is scheduled to lift
off, weather permitting, on March 2 to take the Crew Dragon test capsule to
the ISS.
NASA signed contracts in 2014 with SpaceX and Boeing for the companies to
shuttle US astronauts to the ISS.
This will be the first time the US space agency lets a private-sector
company transport their astronauts.
NASA ended its space-shuttle program in 2011 and since then has relied on
buying spots on Russian Soyuz rockets to send US astronauts to the orbiting
ISS.
“This is an absolutely critical first step that we do as we move towards
returning the crewed launch capability back here to the US,” said
Gerstenmaier, speaking at a press conference in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The March 2 flight will be identical to a flight that is set to take two
astronauts to the ISS later in the year, possibly in July.
The Crew Dragon capsule has seven seats. It should dock with the ISS on
March 3, then detach and return to Earth on March 8.
“I guarantee everything will not work exactly right, and that’s cool,
that’s exactly what we want to do,” said Gerstenmaier.
“We want to maximize our learning so when… we’re ready to go do a real
crewed mission, and it’ll be the right safety for our crews.” SpaceX has
already made more than a dozen unmanned trips since 2012 carrying supplies to
the ISS with the cargo version of the Dragon capsule.
But the safety criteria for manned flights are higher, and NASA said that
the Crew Dragon still has some problems, including with its parachutes.
“It’s a really big deal for SpaceX,” said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president
of the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk.