Name: SpaceX & NASA Complete Historic Launch Of Astronauts From US Soil
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SpaceX & NASA Complete Historic Launch Of Astronauts From US Soil

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Hi, what are you looking for?DM-2 Lifts off at Kennedy Space Center. // Source: SpaceX livestream,&nbsp;Cape Canaveral, Florida — The much-anticipated launch of the Demo-2 mission marks the first time NASA has launched astronauts from American soil since the end of the Shuttle program. Originally planned for launch on Wednesday, the mission took place earlier today, Saturday, May 30th.Shuttle mission STS-135 launched in 2011, leaving a nearly 9-year gap until this launch. Since then, the United States has relied on Russia for crewed spaceflight. A triumphant mission, the space agency hopes to not only lessen our reliance on foreign countries for access to space, but to also facilitate American ingenuity.Crew Dragon on the pad at Kennedy Space Center. // Source:While the capsule design of Crew Dragon may seem like a downgrade from the extravagance of the Space Shuttle, there are many reasons why SpaceX and NASA decided to use this design.Equipped with an abort system, the Crew Dragon spacecraft could eject off of the Falcon 9 at a moment’s notice. This concept was tested earlier this year on SpaceX’s Demo-1 mission, in which they purposefully aborted launch mid-flight on an empty capsule.Additionally, Crew Dragon has various improvements for the astronauts within it. Notably, while strapping in the crew for Shuttle missions was infamously arduous, Behnken and Hurley were secured in a matter of minutes in Crew Dragon.Leading up to launch, the weather forecast around Cape Canaveral increased from roughly 50% on the day of the launch to 70% favorability before launch. Smaller tornado warnings in the area earlier in the week were some cause for concern. Despite this, mission control continued the countdown.Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley posing for a photo. // Source: NASA/SpaceXA few hours before launch, the two astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, arrived at the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in their separate . At roughly T-42 minutes, the crew access arm retracted, leaving the two alone with mission control. Finally, launch was verified at T-45 seconds with a “go” from the SpaceX launch director, and DM-2 officially took off with a thunderous roar at T-0.We have liftoff. History is made as launch from for the first time in nine years on the Crew Dragon:— NASA (@NASA)Tension had mounted as the spacecraft began its ascent towards orbit. At just T+58 seconds, the rocket reached the peak mechanical stress that it would face in the whole mission (this is called Max Q), and the first and second stages separated at T+2:33 minutes. As the second stage continued to boost Crew Dragon into orbit, the first stage landed on a drone ship off of the Florida coast at T+9:22. Finally, Crew Dragon successfully separated from stage two at 12 minutes from launch.Crew Dragon has separated from Falcon 9’s second stage and is on its way to the International Space Station with @Astro_Behnken and ! Autonomous docking at the will occur at ~10:30 a.m. EDT tomorrow, May 31— SpaceX (@SpaceX)As a result of this mission, and the whole commercial crew program, NASA will likely never need to rely on foreign countries for access to space. Additionally, such a partnership between SpaceX and NASA will result in drastically less spending on a per-mission basis. As reported by , NASA will save an average of $31 million for each astronaut through future missions with Crew Dragon.Falcon 9 launches Crew Dragon on its first flight with astronauts on board!— SpaceX (@SpaceX)DM-2 lifts off at Kennedy Space Center. // Source: SpaceX livestream Source:&nbsp;Appreciate CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming a&nbsp;&nbsp;— or a&nbsp;patron on .&nbsp;Don't want to miss a cleantech story? Sign up for on email. Or !&nbsp;Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? .Advertisement&nbsp;#1 most loved electric vehicle, solar energy, and battery news &amp; analysis site in the world.&nbsp;Tesla Mosaic, which contains thousands of photos, images, and sketches, is now traveling towards an unknown destiny in space. Tesla not only sent this...A new flow battery for electric vehicles is getting attention from DARPA, NASA, and the US Air Force.NASA took its Artemis Accords to Saudi Arabia last week and secured a promise to collaborate on missions to the Moon, and beyond.Walmart seems eager to tie the knot with Canoo to take on the Amazon/Rivian team-up.

Hi, what are you looking for?DM-2 Lifts off at Kennedy Space Center. // Source: SpaceX livestream,&nbsp;Cape Canaveral, Florida — The much-anticipated launch of the Demo-2 mission marks the first time NASA has launched astronauts from American soil since the end of the Shuttle program. Originally planned for launch on Wednesday, the mission took place earlier today, Saturday, May 30th.Shuttle mission STS-135 launched in 2011, leaving a nearly 9-year gap until this launch. Since then, the United States has relied on Russia for crewed spaceflight. A triumphant mission, the space agency hopes...

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Lead Space Correspondent @CleanTechnica. Indie rock fan. Fascinated by all things space!

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Harry Stoltz

We have covered the cleantech industry obsessively for 13 years — electric vehicles, solar energy, wind energy, & more.

SpaceX & NASA Complete Historic Launch Of Astronauts From US Soil

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