The USA want to send manned flights to the International space station ISS independently of Russia. A space capsule of a private company, SpaceX launched a test flight. On Board: A Doll.
The new space capsule “Crew Dragon” of the private company SpaceX for manned missions, launched on schedule to your test flight. You took off with a Falcon-9-rocket to 02.49 PM (local time, 08.49 PM CET) from the American spaceport Cape Canaveral in Florida to the International space station ISS. On Sunday, the capsule is scheduled to dock around 12: 00 p.m. (CET) on the ISS and on Friday return back to earth.
Thus, the United States approach again, your goal is to be able to self-manned space flights. Since the discontinuation of the Shuttle program in 2011, American astronauts with Russian “Soyuz”capsules to the ISS to fly. The U.S. Space Agency Nasa pays $ 82 million (72 million Euro) per room the driver.
test flight with two astronauts in June
At this test flight is a life-sized doll on Board. The second, scheduled for July flight, two astronauts are to travel to the ISS. The two astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Benken observed at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral the launch of the “Dragon”.
NASA-chief Jim bride Stine emphasized the great importance, which would have its own bemannbare space ships for the United States: “We are about to launch American astronauts with American rockets from American soil for the first time since the end of the Space Shuttle in 2011.”
in addition to SpaceX, Boeing has received another private company from the US government the mandate to develop bemannbare space ships. The “Starliner”-capsule supposed to do in April, the first test flight, the second with the astronauts on Board will follow in August.
Regular manned flights until the end of the year
Until the end of the year, then go back to the regular manned flights of manned US to include capsules. Bride Stine left open the question of whether NASA will continue to “Dragon” or “Starliner” or both concepts.
“are We going to race in no space,” he said. “The race is over. We went to the moon and we won, and that is done. Now, we are in a Position in which we take the time and make sure we do it right.”
