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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday May 27 2020, @01:45AM   Printer-friendly
from the Up-up-and-away dept.

(NB: A timeline of events before and after the launch are at SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 Launch Timeline)

Crew Dragon Demo-2

Crew Dragon Demo-2 (officially known as SpaceX Demo-2) will be the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, scheduled for launch to the International Space Station on 27 May 2020 at 20:33:33 UTC (4:33:33 PM EDT). Demo-2 will be the first crewed orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since the final Space Shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011, on which Douglas (Doug) G. Hurley was the pilot. Hurley will be spacecraft commander on Crew Dragon Demo-2, joined by Robert (Bob) L. Behnken as joint operations commander. Crew Dragon Demo-2 will also be the first two-person orbital spaceflight launched from the United States since STS-4 in 1982.

SpaceX - Crew Dragon Demo 2 Launch:

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, May 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration (Demo-2) mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This test flight with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board the Dragon spacecraft will return human spaceflight to the United States.

The instantaneous launch window opens at 4:33 p.m. EDT, or 20:33 UTC, with backup instantaneous launch opportunities available on Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC, and on Sunday, May 31 at 3:00 p.m. EDT, or 19:00 UTC. Tune in here[*] to watch the launch webcast. Coverage will begin about 4 hours before liftoff.

Demo-2 is the final major test for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX is returning human spaceflight to the United States with one of the safest, most advanced systems ever built, and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is a turning point for America’s future in space exploration that lays the groundwork for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

All Times Are Approximate

Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will verify the spacecraft is performing as intended by testing the environmental control and life support systems, the maneuvering thrusters, and thermal control systems, among other things. Crew Dragon will perform a series of phasing maneuvers to position itself for rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

The spacecraft is designed to do this autonomously. However, astronauts on board the spacecraft and the space station will be diligently monitoring approach and docking, and can take control of the spacecraft if necessary.

Upon conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the two astronauts onboard the spacecraft and depart the Space Station. After jettisoning the trunk and conducting its deorbit burn, which lasts approximately 12 minutes, Dragon will reenter Earth’s atmosphere.

Upon splashdown just off Florida’s Atlantic Coast, Dragon and the astronauts will be quickly recovered by one of SpaceX’s recovery vessels and returned to Cape Canaveral.

[*] https://www.spacex.com/launches/index.html


Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2

Related Stories

SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 Launch Timeline 33 comments

For background on the launch, please see: Spacex - Crew Dragon Demo 2 Launch - 2020-05-27 20:33 UTC (16:33 EDT)

Here is the timeline for the upcoming SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch slated for an instantaneous launch window of 2020-05-27 20:33 UTC (16:33 EDT):

(Note: all times are approximate)

SpaceX to Launch Crew Demo 2; Weather Causes Today's Launch to be Scrubbed; Try Again Sat. 18 comments

NB: Video feed is live right now. Launch is scheduled for 1.5 hours from the time this story goes live, i.e.the launch has an instantaneous launch of 20:43 UTC or 16:43 EDT. See yesterday's stories about this launch and for a timeline and additional background information:

According to a tweet by Eric Berger (Ars Technica's writer on all things Space and Weather):

Updated: The plan is to press ahead with today's countdown. Significant weather concerns remain, but there's a chance. The crew will suit up, and SpaceX will continue to prepare the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon for liftoff at 4:33pm ET.

In other words, should the weather prove to be acceptable at the scheduled launch time, they want to be ready to go.

SpaceX may launch today, but weather is a huge concern:

For today's mission, we need to track weather both at the launch site for liftoff, and down range in case of potential emergencies with the rocket during the countdown or after it launches.

[...] For Kennedy Space Center and SpaceX's Launch Complex 39A, there are 12 different criteria near the pad that must be met before a launch can proceed. These include sustained winds of 30mph or below, no anvil thunderstorm clouds within 10 nautical miles, and various rules about clouds.

When the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida provides the official forecast for a launch, it is basing its percentage solely on conditions for a particular rocket and weather at the launch site. This morning's updated forecast for today's launch attempt of SpaceX's Crew Dragon is decent, with a 50 percent chance of "violating weather constraints" at the time of launch.

However, this forecast does not include several other important considerations, most notably ascent abort weather. This is a really big concern today with the formation of Tropical Storm Bertha off the coast of South Carolina and unsettled weather in Dragon's path.

You can check the National Weather Service's web pages for their Conventional and Graphical Hourly forecasts for Titusville, FL.

Assuming the weather cooperates, check out any of these live video links:


Original Submission

Today WAS the Day -- Crew Demo 2 Launch Successful -- Heading to ISS [Updated] 60 comments

[20200530_203823 UTC: UPDATE: Launch was successful, all systems nominal, first stage successfully landed on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You", and Ben and Doug are on their 19-hour flight to the ISS (International Space Station). Live coverage continues all the way through docking.]

Today's the day— weather permitting, America is returning to space:

During Wednesday's technically smooth countdown, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken came within 17 minutes of launching before a scrub due to poor weather. Now the crew will suit up and try again on Saturday despite still iffy weather.

SpaceX is working toward an instantaneous launch at 3:22pm ET (19:22 UTC). The big concern again today is the development of thunderstorms near the launch site this afternoon, which could violate a number of weather criteria, including not just precipitation, but also residual electric energy from lighting in the atmosphere. Overall, the chance of acceptable weather at launch time is about 50 percent, forecasters estimate. They are also watching for down-range conditions in case an emergency abort is required during the rocket's ascent to space.

This is nothing new for NASA or U.S. human spaceflight. As the commander, Hurley, noted on Twitter Friday that his first space mission in 2009 scrubbed five times for weather or technical issues before it finally lifted off. "All launch commit criteria is developed way ahead of any attempt," Hurley said. "This makes the correct scrub or launch decision easier in the heat of the moment."

It has been such a long, long road for NASA and SpaceX to reach this moment—thousands of engineers and technicians have labored to design, develop, test, and fly hardware for the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket over the last decade. But now the hardware and crew are ready, and at just the right time, to go fly.

[...] A combined NASA and SpaceX webcast will begin today at 11am ET (15:00 UTC).

Launch is scheduled for exactly 2 hours from the time this story goes live.

You can also join the discussion on channel #Soylent on IRC (Internet Relay Chat).

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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @01:50AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @01:50AM (#999463)

    Boomers want their safe space from COVID-19. Send the Boomers to Mars. End the Lockdown. Let the rest of us live in peace.

    Of course this would mean every Soylentil would be leaving for Mars. Everybody knows SoylentNews readership is 99.9% Boomers.

    Goodbye Soylentils. Fuck off. You will not be missed. Never come back.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @03:08AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @03:08AM (#999490)

      OP is obviously disgruntled at the lockdown... probably couldn't get any pink hair dye delivered and is worried about roots showing.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @11:16AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @11:16AM (#999566)

      Stay mad, brainlet.

  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday May 27 2020, @02:31AM (5 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday May 27 2020, @02:31AM (#999472)

    This is quite exciting really.

    It's shame it has taken so long, but hopefully it is the beginning of lots of manned space flight. Get some people on Mars as soon as possible to do some real exploring.

    Robots are cool, but they can't do the job anywhere near as well as people can.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @02:44AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @02:44AM (#999478)

      It would be more exciting if Elong Musky had the balls to risk his own life.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @02:54AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @02:54AM (#999484)

        Only a matter of time before Ash-∆-$~12 demands emancipation to another planet from his parent "Pedo Guy" after being bullied at school for an unpronounceable name.

        • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @03:30AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @03:30AM (#999501)

          We have yet to see whether X Æ A-12 will die of SIDS before learning to speak.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @04:45AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @04:45AM (#999514)

        It would be more exciting if Elong Musky had the balls to risk his own life.

        How do we know he actually has balls, anyway. He could have a vagina with a labia shaped like a balloon animal.

      • (Score: 2, Touché) by khallow on Wednesday May 27 2020, @05:01AM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 27 2020, @05:01AM (#999518) Journal

        It would be more exciting if Elong Musky had the balls to risk his own life.

        Because that's relevant how? I think it'd be more exciting for you if you were risking your own life. Hop on that rocket, boy.

  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @08:41AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2020, @08:41AM (#999546)

    Every part below your ass produced by the lowest bidder. Cheaper that way. Rate of failure +/- 50%, but we made up for it with deregulation and cost savings on your suits! At least you are not flying Ruskie!! Ha, ha! Boom!!!

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