NASA wants you along for the dawdle (nearly about) on SpaceX’s subsequent astronaut mission

SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronauts — NASA’s Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi — pose in front of their Dragon pill, “Resilience,” at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

(Image: © SpaceX)

SpaceX’s first operational astronaut open for NASA is nice 9 days away, and the agency is spicy the final public to high-tail along for the historical dawdle.

The Crew-1 mission is scheduled to retract off from NASA’s Kennedy Dwelling Heart (KSC) in Florida on the evening of Nov. 14. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will ship a Crew Dragon pill carrying four astronauts — NASA’s Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi — to the International Dwelling Residing for a six-month stop.

Crew-1 would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps be the fundamental diminished in size mission SpaceX flies under a $2.6 billion deal it signed with NASA’s Industrial Crew Program in 2014. The agency is obviously fascinated about this milestone, and it be taking distress to share that excitement with all of us.

SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission: Stay updates

“People of the final public can relieve the open nearly about, receiving mission updates and alternatives most incessantly reserved for on-space company,” NASA officials wrote in a assertion on Tuesday (Nov. 3). 

“NASA’s digital open ride for Crew-1 comprises curated open resources, a digital boarding pass, notifications about NASA social interactions and the opportunity for a digital open passport trace following a worthwhile open,” the agency added.

That you just would possibly perhaps perhaps download a Crew-1 “open passport” right here, be a part of for emailed mission updates right here and register for social media updates right here.

NASA has also compiled a instructing toolkit for Crew-1 that educators and parents can exercise to abet gain students fascinated about science, expertise, engineering and math. That you just would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps possibly catch that resource right here.

There’ll likely be a bunch of job to exercise within the buildup to the Nov. 14 open. The Crew-1 astronauts will advance at KSC on Nov. 8, as an illustration, and NASA will relieve a “Crew-1 social media engagement” on Nov. 9 at 1: 15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT). 

The agency also plans to behavior a media teleconference on Nov. 9 to focus on about outcomes of the Crew-1 flight readiness overview. The time has yet to be definite; the teleconference will happen no sooner than an hour after conclusion of the overview, which would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps stretch into Nov. 10, NASA officials acknowledged.

A prelaunch recordsdata convention will likely be held on Nov. 12, also at a time to be definite. And NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and diversified notables will purchase part in a “countdown clock briefing” on Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).

NASA TV protection of the Crew-1 open will starting up at 3: 30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT) on Nov. 14. Birth is scheduled for 7: 49 p.m. EST (0049 GMT on Nov. 15), and Crew Dragon will dock with the apartment situation around 4: 20 a.m. EST (0920 GMT) on Nov. 15.

A welcome ceremony for the four newly arrived astronauts will likely be held aboard the International Dwelling Residing at about 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT) on Nov. 15. Spherical 20 minutes later, NASA will relieve a post-docking recordsdata convention that comprises Bridenstine and a option of diversified prominent officials.

That you just would possibly perhaps perhaps perhaps possibly catch all of those Crew-1 protection particulars and more right here. 

Crew-1 will likely be SpaceX’s 2nd astronaut mission to the apartment situation, after the Demo-2 test flight, which launched on Would possibly perhaps additionally merely 30 of this yr. Demo-2 — the fundamental orbital crewed flight to open from the U.S. since the apartment shuttles retired in 2011 — despatched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the location for a two-month stop.

Admire SpaceX, aerospace extensive Boeing signed a business crew contend with NASA in 2014. Boeing will fulfill its contract, which is worth $4.2 billion, with a pill called CST-100 Starliner. But Starliner is now not ready to fly astronauts yet; it must first ace an uncrewed test flight to the apartment situation. Starliner already tried this as soon as, in December 2019, however the pill suffered a glitch and received caught in an orbit too low to enable a rendezvous with the location.

Mike Wall is the author of “Out There” (Gigantic Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book referring to the peep for alien lifestyles. Observe him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Fb.