SPACEX LAUNCHES ASTRONAUTS INTO ORBIT
Successful liftoff from U.S. soil begins a new era of spaceflight for NASA, private firms
The Demo-2 mission is the last major test before SpaceX can receive NASA certification to begin more routine trips to the International Space Station.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A new era of human spaceflight began Saturday as a billionaire’s white-andblack rocket, with a capsule perched on top, overcame the day’s 50-50 weather forecast to propel NASA astronauts into orbit.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 2:22 p.m. CDT, three days after its first attempt was scrubbed by inclement weather. This liftoff marked the first time in nine years that NASA astronauts launched from U.S. soil. And for SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, it was the company’s first time launching people — a long-held ambition, even if Musk didn’t dare believe it would come true.
“When starting SpaceX in 2002, I really did not think this day would occur,” Musk said during an interview aired Wednesday on NASA TV. “I expected, 90 percent chance we’d fail to even get to low-Earth orbit with a small rocket.”
But the company persevered, developing its own flare along the way. In 2018, SpaceX launched a cherryred Tesla Roadster into space. This year, its astronauts donned sleek spacesuits (white and black like the rocket), arrived at Launch Complex 39A in a customized Tesla Model X
SUV and climbed into a spacecraft with touchscreen controls. It’s part of the vision and inspiration that Musk brings to the American space program, said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
“He’s brilliant. He’s capable,” Bridenstine said. “There have been times when maybe there was a little tension because of the priorities that we were focused on. But when I talk to him, when I meet with him, he gives me a commitment and he delivers on that commitment.” He also credited SpaceX willingness to fail — and learn from it. “They test, they fail, they fix, they fly.”
SpaceX launched astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley as a test flight for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was established as its own standalone program on April 5, 2011. This program sought a new, more affordable way of reaching the International Space Station. NASA did not want to own the vehicle and determine its every feature (the space shuttle had 10,000 to 12,000 requirements, including how much stainless steel was in the bolts).
So it created 300 requirements mostly related to safety and then allowed companies to propose their own vehicle designs. It selected SpaceX and Boeing’s proposals in September 2014, providing the companies with funding and technical expertise over the years. Both companies contributed their own money, too.
SpaceX and Boeing own the vehicles, and NASA ultimately hopes to be one of many customers purchasing seats. NASA says the Commercial Crew Program will save money the agency will use to fund its deepspace ambitions.
In addition, NASA will no longer be dependent on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for reaching the International Space Station. The agency has relied on this vehicle since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011.
“This launch will restore to the United States a strategic capability — the U.S. ability to launch from U.S. territory humans into orbit using U.S. equipment,” John Logsdon, founder of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, said in an email. “A country that claims to be the world’s leading spacefaring nation must have that capability and not be dependent on others for access to space.”
Testing its capabilities
Saturday’s launch was the final step toward regaining that capability. The Demo-2 mission is the last major test before SpaceX can receive NASA certification to begin more routine trips to the International Space Station, potentially as soon as Aug. 30 with Houston-born astronaut Shannon Walker among its crew members.
After hurtling into space, Demo-2 will test a variety of the vehicle’s capabilities, including its life support systems and manual maneuvering (the vehicle is fully autonomous). It should dock with the space station less than 24 hours after launch, and then the astronauts could stay onboard the station for roughly one to four months, helping with maintenance and research, before landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
It’s a technological prowess that the Florida coast has missed watching, and people flocked to beaches, parks and bridges to see the Falcon 9 launch. Bridenstine, worried about a COVID-19 outbreak, initially implored people to watch from home. But after seeing Wednesday’s turnout and the state’s reopening — the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex opened Thursday with limited attendance and requiring face coverings — his tone changed a bit during Friday’s news conference. He continued to emphasize that the agency is taking precautions to protect its employees against COVID-19, but for the onlookers he said it’s important to practice social distancing and wear personal protective equipment.
“There is no doubt times are changing, and people are going to travel and the visitor’s center is going to be open,” Bridenstine said. “But we will make sure that the people that are involved in these mission-essential functions for this country — launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, launching our next rover to Mars — that these mission-essential functions will not be placed in jeopardy.”
Across the Indian River in Titusville, Robert “Ozzie” Osband was in his usual post at Space View Park, passing out pamphlets with details on the Demo-2 mission and using his guitar amplifier to share audio from NASA TV. Osband, the park’s “launch host,” took a nonspace job in Titusville in 1987 so he could live near the launches. He likes helping the park’s visitors know what to expect and where they should look. His standard uniform is a green shirt for “go.” On Wednesday, he wore it over a red shirt for the “s” word (scrubbed) and had to take off the green shirt to show the red shirt when the launch was indeed scrubbed. On Saturday, he had the red shirt in a backpack and fortunately didn’t need to pull it out.
Houstonians watch
Some of the people who traveled to Florida on Wednesday couldn’t stay for the weekend launch. But Ming Fei Chen and Chris Cambron, who drove an RV from Houston, were able to see Saturday’s historic liftoff. Cambron had seen one launch as a kid, but Chen had never seen a launch. They’re both Musk enthusiasts, impressed by his innovative spirit.
The launch was worth the wait and the many days spent in hot Florida campsites.
“The sound was great,” Cambron said. “The rumble across the water was really nice.”
Also in Florida were President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Trump called Behnken and Hurley’s launch heroic.
“Moments ago, as we witnessed the launch of two great American astronauts into space, we were filled with the sense of pride and unity that brings us together as Americans,” Trump said.
He also praised SpaceX for being the first private company to put NASA astronauts into orbit around the Earth, and he said Saturday’s launch is a marker for both leveraging the fastgrowing capabilities of the commercial sector and the country’s goals of reaching the moon and Mars.
Ultimately, it’s hoped that this SpaceX launch, followed by Boeing launching astronauts into space on its CST-100 Starliner capsule, helps bring down the cost of accessing space. It will still be expensive for most people in the foreseeable future, but more companies and governments should be able to afford seats, Phil Smith, a space industry analyst at analytics and engineering firm Bryce Space and Technology, said in an email.
“The launch vehicle and spacecraft are owned and operated by a private entity. That has never happened before for orbital human spaceflight,” Smith said. “NASA provided a good deal of the funding to make it possible, to be sure, but the long view is that the agency wants to be one of many customers as commercial human spaceflight evolves through the years ahead.”
It’s also hoped that Saturday’s flight proves out this new model where NASA and commercial companies share the costs and rewards of space travel. NASA recently announced a similar public-private partnership for developing human landing systems that will lower astronauts to the lunar surface as part of its Artemis program.
“It validates the new approach to commercial partnerships that will significantly benefit the U.S. space program going forward,” David Alexander, director of the Rice University Space Institute, said in an email.