SpaceX set for first operational crew mission to ISS, will carry NASA & JAXA astronauts

SpaceX is all set to launch the first operational crew mission to the International Space Station (ISS) after NASA certified the American aerospace company for transporting humans to and from the space station following the successful launch of the Demo-2 mission in May. SpaceX is scheduled to carry three Americans and one Japanese astronaut to the International Space Station on November 14. The four crew members will be launched aboard SpaceX's Dragon Capsule mounted on Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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"I’m extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft. This certification milestone is an incredible achievement from NASA and SpaceX that highlights the progress we can make working together with commercial industry," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine after officially certifying the spacecraft system.

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Crew-1 mission

The crew members who will be taken to the ISS are NASA astronauts, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut, Soichi Noguchi. The astronauts are scheduled to reach the Space Station eight hours after the launch on Saturday. . SpaceX said that Crew-1 is the first of three scheduled flights over the course of 2020-2021. There will five major processes after the liftoff that scientists on Earth will keep their eyes on-orbit activation, phasing burns, approach initiation, proximity operation, and docking. 

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SpaceX launched its first astronaut flight on May 30 as it sent NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS and then brought them back to Earth in August. Following an extensive study of flight data, NASA now certified the first-ever commercial spacecraft system to transport humans to and from space. The Crew Dragon, including the Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, is the first new, crew spacecraft to be NASA-certified for regular flights with astronauts since the space shuttle nearly 40 years ago. 

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