SpaceX successfully launched a crew of four aboard a Crew Dragon module at 7:27 pm on Sunday carried into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket. “Not even gravity contains humanity as we explore for all,” said Mission Control as the craft soared above Florida. The vehicle, laden with three NASA astronauts as well as a colleague from the Japanese space agency, is now en route to the International Space Station as part of the Crew-1 mission.
The crew is currently expected to stay on the International Space Station for up to six months, where they will perform routine maintenance on the station while also conducting various experiments. The SpaceX Crew Dragon is assumed to reach the International Space Station around 4:20 AM EST on Monday morning.
“As you can imagine, we are very excited to be here in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center for the final days before our launch to the International Space Station,” said mission commander Michael Hopkins during a press conference.
Today is the first of what are anticipated to be regular launches to the space station that NASA is contracting to SpaceX.
Last Updated on 11/20/2020 by Emmanuel Motelin
