Today, astronauts Doug and Bob departed on their 19 hour ride in the Crew Dragon capsule to the international space station. The Falcon 9 was launched today at 3:22 from the Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral with millions tuning in live from their own homes to watch this historic moment. The entire ride to the station will be covered live until they arrive at their scheduled time of 10:27 May 31, 2020. In order to avoid spreading Covid-9 to the astronauts, the pair were helped into their suits by engineers wearing masks, gloves, and black hoods, causing them to resemble ninjas.
After the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011, the U.S. has had to rely on Russia to transport their astronauts. Now, 9 years later, the U.S. launches its own shuttle to mark what has been described as a new era of spaceflight. After the first launch attempt was spoiled by threatening weather, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket.
Sources:
Jacob Bogage, Christian Davenport. “SpaceX Launch Live Updates: Launch a Success as Dragon Capsule Separates from Falcon 9 Rocket.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 30 May 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/30/spacex-nasa-launch-live-updates/.
“Launches.” SpaceX, www.spacex.com/launches/.
“SpaceX Launch Live: Updates From NASA Astronauts' Trip to Orbit.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/science/spacex-launch-nasa.html.
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