SpaceX Demo-2

Links:

https://www.space.com/41494-spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-inside-look.html  (General Description)

NASA.gov. (for NASA TV launch coverage)

Heavens-above.com  My favorite satellite tracker (Be sure to enter your exact location and time zone)

 

(Plain Text Version)

I was disappointed when we failed to develop a new crewed space program during the final years of the Space Shuttle.  At the time, it was stated that the next vehicles would come from the private sector.  I did not take this seriously, and tried not to think about the whole affair.

I hadn’t followed the US efforts to put people into orbit again.  So, I was taken by surprise to hear that this very thing will happen next Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

This mission marks a huge step in space travel.  It will be the first crewed spacecraft privately designed and built.  The new spacecraft, called the Crew Dragon, comes from SpaceX.  It will launch from Cape Canaveral with astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.  After docking with the International Space Station, Behnken and Hurley will join the ISS crew.  They could stay for several months. 

To return home, the capsule will undock from the ISS, re-enter, and land in the Atlantic Ocean near Florida.

If timing and weather are favorable,  it is possible to watch the Crew Dragon as it approaches the ISS.  It would be helpful to use binoculars, because the Crew Dragon will be very dim, compared to the ISS.

Let’s pray for a safe journey!