May 2020 – Page 7 – Commercial Crew Program

The SpaceX Crew Dragon: A New Ride to the Space Station

An illustration of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Image credit: SpaceX

The SpaceX Crew Dragon is about to be taken out for the ultimate test drive to the International Space Station.

The next-generation spacecraft is fully autonomous but also can be controlled manually if needed. During the Demo-2 mission, astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will validate that the spacecraft’s systems operate as expected – both autonomously and manually. Click here to see a labeled Crew Dragon illustration.

In March 2020, SpaceX teams in Firing Room 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the company's Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, along with NASA flight controllers in Mission Control Houston, executed a full simulation of launch and docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley participating in SpaceX's flight simulator. — In March 2020, SpaceX teams in Firing Room 4 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the company’s Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, along with NASA flight controllers in Mission Control Houston, executed a full simulation of launch and docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley participating in SpaceX’s flight simulator. Photo credit: SpaceX

“We specifically, as part of this test flight, designed in some time in the preflight phase as well as closer to the space station so we can test out actual manual flying capability of the vehicle, just to see and verify that it handles the way we expect it to and the way the simulator shows it to fly,” Hurley said. “It’s a prudent part of our flight test, just like anything else, in case the eventuality happened for a future crew that needed to take over manually and fly spacecraft. So we’re just doing our part to test out all the different capabilities of Crew Dragon.”

The Crew Dragon has several features that set it apart from the company’s Cargo Dragon, which has made several flights to the orbiting laboratory to deliver cargo. Crew Dragon has an integrated launch escape system to carry the astronauts to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency; we’ll discuss that in more detail later in the countdown. SpaceX has completed a series of parachute tests, including several on the Mark III parachutes on today’s Crew Dragon to ensure a safe return to Earth for the crew.

Inside, the spacecraft’s life support system provides air and pressure, and maintains a comfortable temperature and humidity level. Its touchscreens have been tuned to operate with and without the SpaceX spacesuit gloves, and the control system has been thoroughly tested during the hundreds of hours of training and joint simulations with the crew in both suited and non-suited situations to demonstrate full functionality over the entire expected operating range of Crew Dragon.

Behnken and Hurley have been heavily involved in the development of the Crew Dragon and were careful to provide input that would benefit all future crews to fly aboard the spacecraft.

“We’ve tried very hard to not make it a vehicle that just Bob likes, or just Doug likes; this is a vehicle for everybody after us who’s going to fly it,” Behnken said. “You’re trying to make a vehicle that is easy to operate in space, easy to interpret what it’s telling you, easy to get in and get out of, all those things that you need to do that need to be well-oiled for a space vehicle.”

Astronauts Verify Communications

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 crew members Douglas Hurley, foreground, and Robert Behnken, inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft at Launch Complex 39A. Image credit: NASA TV

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are beginning a series of communications checks – “comm checks” – with various key members of the launch and mission teams, including SpaceX Launch Director Mike Taylor and Chief Engineer Bala Ramamurthy, both in Firing Room 4 in Kennedy’s Launch Control Center; and the SpaceX Crew Operations and Resources Engineer (CORE).

There will be several COREs communicating with the crew throughout the mission, including Jay Aranha, SpaceX CORE for ingress and ascent; Anna Menon, SpaceX CORE for Crew Dragon’s approach to and departure from the International Space Station; Laura Crabtree, the CORE for free flight; and Mike Heiman, the SpaceX CORE for the crew’s return to Earth. The CORE engineers are located at SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, California.

Crew Members Climb Aboard Crew Dragon

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft at Launch Complex 39A. Image credit: NASA TV

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 crew is now onboard!

Demo-2 spacecraft commander Douglas Hurley entered the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft first, followed shortly after by Demo-2 joint operations commander Robert Behnken, who sits to Hurley’s right. SpaceX technicians are helping them get situated and buckled in.

As the astronauts board, their seats are configured in the upright position; later, prior to closure of the spacecraft’s side hatch, the seats will be rotated into a reclined position for flight.

During their time in the White Room – a sealed, clean space that prevents humidity or contaminants from getting into the spacecraft while the hatch is open – the astronauts paused to sign the wall above a NASA logo.

Crew Arrives at Launch Complex 39A

NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 crew arrives at the base of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A. — NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 crew arrives at the base of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. Image credit: NASA TV

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley on Launch Complex 39A before boarding the SpaceX Crew Dragon atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket, May 27, 2020. — NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley on Launch Complex 39A before boarding the SpaceX Crew Dragon atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, May 27, 2020. Image credit: NASA TV

In the next several minutes, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will take the elevator up to the 255-foot level of the fixed service structure, then take a short flight of stairs to the crew access level, where they will cross the crew access arm – the walkway from the fixed service structure over to the White Room and the waiting SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Historic Launch Complex 39A

The SpaceX Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand on Launch Complex 39A on May 27, 2020. Image credit: NASA TV

In this photo taken March 3, 2010, space shuttle Discovery has just arrived at Launch Complex 39A for the STS-131 mission. The center structure, topped by the lightning mast, is the fixed service structure; the rotating service structure is at left. SpaceX has modified and upgraded the pad to support its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Photo credit: NASA

Today’s launch of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission will kick off a new chapter for Launch Complex 39A.

This was the launch site for 11 Apollo/Saturn V missions, including Apollo 11, which carried the first astronauts to land on the Moon. The pad also was the launch site for 82 space shuttle missions, including STS-1, the first shuttle launch; the STS-125 final servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope; STS-135, the final shuttle mission; and many more throughout the program’s 30-year span.

The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off with Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. at 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, 1969, from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A. — The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle lifts off with Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. at 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, 1969, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. Photo credit: NASA

After the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA began the process to transform Kennedy Space Center from a historically government-only launch facility into a multi-user spaceport for both government and commercial use. On April 14, 2014, the agency signed a property agreement with SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, for use of the launch site for the next 20 years. SpaceX upgraded and modified the launch pad to support its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. The company also built a horizontal processing hangar at the base of the pad to perform final vehicle integration prior to flight.

Because of NASA’s partnership with SpaceX within the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Launch Complex 39A will once again be the site of crewed missions to the space station.

Astronauts on Way to Launch Pad 39A

A Tesla with a tag that reads “ISSBND” is photographed at historic Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23, 2020, ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are on their way to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A after departing the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building across the spaceport.

There to see them off were Vice President Mike Pence, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, along with their family, friends and support team members.

Then they climbed into a customized white Tesla Model X for the 20-minute ride to the pad. The crew’s vehicle is traveling in the middle of a convoy including support team members and security personnel.

At the launch site, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are ready for the crew’s arrival.

SpaceX Demo-2 Crew Walks Out of O&C Ready for Ride to Launch Pad 39A

The SpaceX Demo-2 crew just walked out of the double doors below the Astronaut Crew Quarters – and joined a rich legacy. Apollo and space shuttle crews exited through the same doors Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken just passed through on their way out to the customized Tesla Model X car that will be their ride to Launch Complex 39A.

A carefully spaced crowd of family, friends and supporters cheered for the pair as they waved back and paused to speak to their wives and sons.

Astronauts Suited for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Launch

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley talk to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, far left, and SpaceX's Elon Musk inside the suit room in Kennedy Space Center's Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. — NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley talk to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, far left, and SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk inside the suit room in Kennedy Space Center’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. Image credit: NASA TV

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken have put on their SpaceX spacesuits and will soon depart the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building and head out to the pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A.

Introducing Astronaut Robert L. Behnken

NASA astronaut Robert Behnken. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA astronaut Robert Behnken, STS-130 mission specialist, participates in the mission’s second spacewalk on Feb. 14, 2010, to continue construction and maintenance on the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

Missouri native Robert L. Behnken was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2000 and is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. A colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Behnken has flown more than 1,500 flight hours in more than 25 different types of aircraft.

He flew as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle Endeavour on STS-123 in March 2008, and again as a mission specialist aboard Endeavour on STS-130 in 2010. Both flights were assembly missions to the International Space Station. He has logged more than 708 hours in space, and more than 37 hours during six spacewalks.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken watch the liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft on the uncrewed In-Flight Abort Test, Jan. 19, 2020, inside Firing Room 4 in Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Control Center. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Behnken is the joint operations commander on the Demo-2 mission, responsible for activities such as rendezvous, docking and undocking, as well as Demo-2 activities while the spacecraft is docked to the space station.

With Behnken, Hurley said recently, “there is no stone unturned, no way he doesn’t have every potential eventuality already thought about, five times ahead of almost anybody else. There’s just no question I can ask him that he doesn’t already have the best answer for. It’s just been such a pleasure – and it’s such an asset – to have somebody like that on a crew with you. He’s already got it all figured out.”

Introducing Astronaut Douglas G. Hurley

NASA astronaut Douglas Hurley. Photo credit: SpaceX

Astronaut Doug Hurley, STS-127 pilot, is pictured at space shuttle Endeavour's aft flight deck controls during flight day five operations with hardware on the International Space Station, July 19, 2009. — Astronaut Doug Hurley, STS-127 pilot, is pictured at space shuttle Endeavour’s aft flight deck controls during flight day five operations with hardware on the International Space Station, July 19, 2009. Photo credit: NASA

Douglas G. Hurley was selected as an astronaut in 2000. A veteran of two spaceflights, he was the pilot on STS‐127 and STS‐135. Before joining NASA, he was a fighter pilot and test pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and has logged over 5,500 hours in more than 25 aircraft.

The New York native flew as the pilot aboard space shuttle Endeavour on STS-127, an assembly mission to the International Space Station, in 2009. On his second flight, he served as the pilot aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the program’s final mission, STS-135, in 2011. He has logged more than 680 hours in space.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken, seated at consoles inside SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, monitor the Crew Dragon spacecraft static fire engine tests taking place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Nov. 13, 2019. Photo credit: SpaceX

Hurley is the spacecraft commander for Demo-2, responsible for activities such as launch, landing and recovery.

“Doug is ready for anything, all the time. He is always prepared,” Behnken said of Hurley. “Knowing you’re going to fly into space on a test mission, you couldn’t ask for a better person or a better type of individual to be there with you. I’m just grateful that, doing something like this, I’m doing it with Doug Hurley, because he’s going to be prepared for whatever comes our way.”