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Astronauts For Space Mission Rides To Launch-Pad In A Tesla Model X (Watch Video)
At this time of going to press, we are minutes away from the much anticipated historic SpaceX-powered space mission.
The project is intended to bring back the ability to send astronauts in space in the US in years.
Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken are going to be the first astronauts to travel in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon astronaut taxi.
A few hours ago, the two astronauts were conveyed to the location of the launch in a Tesla Model X. This mission will be SpaceX first crewed mission.
Watch the video as Behnken and Hurley are about to board the Model X.
Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be piloting a test flight in a space shuttle called Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft that will be launched into space later today.
SpaceX, a company owned by Elon Musk, owns the space shuttle – Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission will be the company’s first ever-crewed flight.
The test flight will also be the first space launch from the United States since NASA grounded its space shuttle fleet in 2011. The test flight called Demo-2 is scheduled to launch at 4:33 p.m. EDT (2033 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The space mission is designed to fully validate SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket for human spaceflight. The success of the mission will commence the SpaceX ambition to start flying operational crewed missions for NASA.
SpaceX signed a $2.6 billion contract with NASA in 2014 to complete six such missions. The first of which will lift off shortly after Demo-2 lands, provided all goes well with the test flight.
NASA inked a similar, $4.2 billion deal at the same time with Boeing, which the aerospace giant will fulfil using its CST-100 Starliner capsule.
