NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have officially brought spaceflight back to US with the successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station.
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley took off from Launch Complex 39A at 3:22pm Saturday – the first time in nine years that an American crew has launched from US soil.
‘Let´s light this candle,’ commander Hurley said just before lift-off.
There was a 50 percent chance Falcon 9 would not take off today due to ominous clouds and lightning risks, but the weather cleared with just 45 minutes left on the clock countdown.
The mission is also the first time a private company has put astronauts into space, and is the second attempt to launch after Wednesday’s flight was aborted when Storm Bert.
Falcon 9 has returned to Earth and retrieved by SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ship ‘I still love you.’
The Crew Dragon will now take the 19-hour journey to the International Space Station, where Behnken and Hurley will join the Expedition 63 crew.
The International Space Station was only accessible to NASA astronauts through the purchase of seats on Russian capsules launched from Kazakhstan – but that has all changed as of today.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, ‘Maybe there´s an opportunity here for America to maybe pause and look up and see a bright, shining moment of hope at what the future looks like, that the United States of America can do extraordinary things even in difficult times.’
Both NASA and SpaceX said they would be ‘proceeding with countdown’ despite a 50 percent ‘weather cancellation risk’ amid concerns over possible thunderstorms and rain around the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral early Saturday morning.
Bridenstine said during an afternoon briefing: ‘We are predicting a 50, 50 shot of going this time.’
The biggest concern was lighting, precipitation, cumulus clouds and anvil clouds – all of which could ground Falcon 9 until Sunday.
However, about 45 minutes to launch, all requirements went from red to green.
The mission is the first time a private company has put astronauts into space, and is the second attempt to launch after Wednesday’s flight was aborted when Storm Bertha rolled in off the Gulf of Mexico, obstructing the flight path.
The launch pad is the same one used by NASA’s last space shuttle flight, piloted by Hurley, in 2011. Since then, NASA astronauts have had to hitch rides into orbit aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.
Earlier today, Behnken and Hurley did a social distancing farewell with their families who met them outside of the Kennedy crew quarters before they took the journey to Launch Complex 39A.
(Source: Daily Mail)
