4 at launch site for second Spacex crew flight

3 Americans, 1 Japanese set to leave Saturday

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for Spacex’s second crew launch, coming up next weekend.

For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station, with private companies providing the lifts. There will be double the number of astronauts as the test flight earlier this year, and their mission will last a full six months.

“Make no mistake: Every flight is a test flight when it comes to space travel. But it’s also true that we need to routinely be able to go to the International Space Station,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in welcoming the astronauts to Kennedy.

The crew of three Americans and one Japanese are scheduled to rocket away Saturday night, provided approaching Tropical Storm Eta doesn’t interfere. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours.

The astronauts have named their Dragon capsule Resilience given the challenges of 2020: coronavirus and isolation, protests against racial injustice, and a difficult election and campaign season. They have been in quarantine for a week or two and taking safety precautions — masks and social distancing — long before that.

“It’s been a tough year for everybody for a lot of different reasons,” crew commander Mike Hopkins said after flying in from Houston. “We felt like if the name of our vehicle could give a little hope, a little inspiration, put a smile on people’s face, then that is definitely what we wanted to do.”

The four will remain in orbit until spring, when their replacements arrive aboard another Spacex Dragon capsule. The cargo version of the capsule also will keep making regular deliveries of food and supplies.

Spacex’s Benji Reed said the company expects to launch seven Dragons over the next 14 months: three for crew and four for cargo.

“Every time there’s a Dragon launch, there will be two Dragons in space,” said Reed, director of crew mission management.

NASA’S other hired taxi service, meanwhile, Boeing, isn’t expected to fly its first crew until next summer. The company plans a second unpiloted test flight in a couple of months; the first one suffered so many software problems that the Starliner capsule failed to reach the space station.