Houston Chronicle by Alex Stuckey March 2, 2019
SpaceX first commercial crew test flight launches successful from Cape Canaveral, headed to the International Space Station
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk struggled to find words early Saturday after the successful launch of the spacecraft that soon could carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
“To be frank, I’m a little emotionally exhausted because that was super stressful,†Musk told reporters in Florida after Crew Dragon left Earth’s atmosphere. “But it worked. So far.â€
The launch is a first for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which aims to launch Americans from American soil for the first time since the Space Shuttles were grounded in 2011. Since that time, the U.S. has relied on Russian to ferry its astronauts to and from the space station, at a cost of $81 million per seat.
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The Crew Dragon that rocketed out of Earth’s atmosphere Saturday did not have humans on board — unless you count Ripley, a mannequin named after Sigourney Weaver's character in the Alien movie series. Instead, it essentially is a dress rehearsal for the crewed flight tentatively scheduled for July. It will test all the systems aboard the spacecraft to ensure that it is safe for humans.
But Saturday’s event marks an even bigger milestone for the U.S.’s history-making space agency, ushering in a time when companies play an even bigger role in the country’s human exploration portfolio.
“What today really represents is a new era in spaceflight: An era when we are looking forward to being one customer, as an agency and a country, of many customers in a robust commercial marketplace in low Earth orbit,†where the space station flies, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during the Saturday morning news conference. “So we can drive down cost and increase access in ways that, historically, has not been possible.â€
The commercial crew program is part of NASA’s overall plan to commercialize low Earth orbit, where the space station has flown since 1998. But NASA officials and the companies they hired to help them have a long way to go before that becomes a reality.
True success of SpaceX’s test flight Saturday will not be known for about a week. It still must dock to the space station, scheduled for early Sunday morning, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, splashing down near Florida, March 8.
And Boeing — the other company hired by NASA in 2014 to build and launch a commercial spacecraft — still must conduct its test flight, currently scheduled for April.
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