Falcon 9 on Launch Pad; Flight Readiness Review Begins for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2

The crew access arm swings into position for the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-2 mission, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The crew access arm swings into position for the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-2 mission, Thursday, May 21, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley on the agency’s upcoming SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station is in position for liftoff at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The rocket, topped by the Crew Dragon spacecraft, arrived at the launch pad Thursday morning. Liftoff is planned for 4:33 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 27.

On May 21, 2020, inside the Operations Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and SpaceX managers participate in a flight readiness review for the upcoming Demo-2 launch.
On May 21, 2020, inside the Operations Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and SpaceX managers participate in a flight readiness review for the upcoming Demo-2 launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Meanwhile, NASA and SpaceX managers are gathered at Kennedy, with some participating remotely to maintain physical distance, for the Demo-2 Flight Readiness Review (FRR). The review will focus on the readiness of SpaceX’s crew transportation system; the readiness of the station program and its international partners to support the flight; and the certification of flight readiness.

The FRR is targeted to be completed today, but officials have set aside additional time tomorrow, if needed. Approximately one hour after the review ends, the agency will hold a news conference on NASA Television and online at http://www.nasa.gov/live.

For more details about the above activities and other events leading up to the launch, visit NASA’s Commercial Crew Blog.

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Crew Arrives at Kennedy

From left, Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley pose for a photo after speaking to members of the media on May 20, 2020, at the Launch and Landing Facility runway following the crew’s arrival to the Florida spaceport. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
From left, Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley pose for a photo after speaking to members of the media on May 20, 2020, at the Launch and Landing Facility runway following the crew’s arrival to the Florida spaceport. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Demo-2 flight crew has reported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to start final preparations for liftoff. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility runway after departing earlier today from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They’re slated to lift off at 4:33 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 27, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carried by a Falcon 9 rocket – the first launch of American astronauts from American soil to the International Space Station in nearly a decade.

Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken (far left) and Douglas Hurley are greeted by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (far right) Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana at the Launch and Landing Facility runway. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Demo-2 crew members Robert Behnken (far left) and Douglas Hurley are greeted by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (far right) Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana at the Launch and Landing Facility runway. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Demo-2 mission will test the SpaceX crew transportation system from launch to docking to splashdown, paving the way for its certification for regular crew flights to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Upon stepping out of the aircraft, Behnken explained how excited he and Hurley are to be the first to fly on the Crew Dragon.

“We’re thankful for that opportunity,” Behnken said. “We view it as an opportunity, but also, a responsibility – for the American people, for the SpaceX team, for all of NASA – who put this opportunity together and entrusted us with it.”

“I happen to have been one of the four astronauts who landed here almost nine years ago in T-38s on the 4th of July in 2011 to close out the Space Shuttle Program. It’s incredibly humbling to be here to start out the next [crewed] launch from the United States,” Hurley said. “I also want to thank the incredible men and women of SpaceX that have put so many thousands of hours of work into this rocket and spacecraft. We’re looking forward to getting up close and personal with Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon in just a few days.”

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Center Director Bob Cabana greeted Behnken and Hurley as they stepped off the NASA Gulfstream aircraft at the runway’s parking apron.

“This will be the fifth time in American history when we have launched American astronauts on a brand-new vehicle. We did it in Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, we did it with the space shuttles, and now we’re going to do it with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule; and it’s these gentlemen that are going to have the opportunity to pioneer once more for the United States of America,” Bridenstine said. Turning to the crew, he added, “You’re the best that America has to offer.”

Cabana recalled the last time astronauts arrived to prepare for launch from Kennedy – the STS-135 crew, including Hurley, who piloted space shuttle Atlantis on the program’s final flight.

“It’s been almost nine years since July 4, 2011. That’s the last time a crew flew into the landing facility on their way to space,” Cabana said. “I can’t tell you how great it is to welcome Bob and Doug here for this historic mission.”

Tomorrow, NASA and SpaceX managers will conduct a flight readiness review at Kennedy to determine whether the Crew Dragon and its systems are ready for the mission. A news conference will follow at approximately 6 p.m., or one hour after the review concludes. Watch it live on NASA Television or on the web at https://www.nasa.gov/live.

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Astronauts to Arrive at Kennedy on Wednesday

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken stand near Launch Pad 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2020.
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken stand near Launch Pad 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 17, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are set to arrive at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, one week before the pair’s scheduled launch to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Demo-2 mission.

Tomorrow’s schedule calls for the astronauts to depart from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, near NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and fly to Kennedy aboard an agency Gulfstream aircraft. They’re expected to arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy at approximately 4 p.m. EDT. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Center Director Bob Cabana will greet the crew, followed by a news conference at the runway. These events will be broadcast live on NASA Television and online at www.nasa.gov/live.

Behnken and Hurley will fly to the station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A. The Demo-2 mission will serve as an end-to-end flight test to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, from launch to docking to splashdown. It is the final flight test for the system to be certified for regular crew flights to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff is slated for Wednesday, May 27, at 4:33 p.m. EDT.

Crew Dragon Spacecraft Arrives at Launch Complex for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft arrives at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft arrives at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, transported from the company’s processing facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, May 15, 2020, in preparation for the Demo-2 flight test. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The pace of prelaunch activities continues to pick up at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as teams prepare for the upcoming launch of the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission — the first launch of astronauts from America’s premier multi-user spaceport in nearly a decade.

On the Demo-2 flight test, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, at 4:33 p.m. EDT.

Late Friday night, May 15, the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft arrived at Launch Complex 39A after making the trek from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

This Wednesday, Behnken and Hurley will fly from their home base at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Florida spaceport. The agency Flight Readiness Review begins at Kennedy the following day.

Demo-2 will serve as an end-to-end flight test to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, and is the final flight test for the system to be certified for regular crew flights to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This will be the first launch of American astronauts on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station since the final flight of the space shuttle in 2011.

Excitement Builds for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2, Return of Crewed Flight from U.S. Soil

The Commercial Crew and International Space Station overview news conference included NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, top left; Kathy Lueders, program manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, top right; Kirk Shireman, program manager, International Space Station Program, lower left; and Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer, SpaceX, lower right. Image credit: NASA TV

NASA and SpaceX managers joined NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley for a series of virtual briefings on May 1, offering a preview of the upcoming mission to the International Space Station as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission will be the first crewed flight to launch from U.S. soil since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley participate in a SpaceX test of crew flight hardware
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley participated in an integrated SpaceX test of critical crew flight hardware in March. Photo credit: SpaceX

Behnken and Hurley will fly to the station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff is slated for May 27 at 4:32 p.m. EDT.

Building on last year’s uncrewed Demo-1 flight to the station, Demo-2 will be an end-to-end test of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, paving the way for NASA to certify the system for regular crewed flights to the orbiting laboratory. This capability, in turn, will maximize the station’s use as a scientific platform unparalleled on Earth.

“This is a high priority mission for the United States of America. We as a nation have not had our own access to the International Space Station for nine years,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. “At the same time, we’ve had American astronauts on the International Space Station for 20 years in a row, and they’ve been doing these absolutely stunning experiments and discoveries and advancing the human condition from the microgravity of space.”

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program team has worked in partnership with SpaceX for many years to reach this point, according to Kathy Lueders, CCP manager, and Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president and chief operating officer.

“I want to make it clear that this is one of many exciting and hard days that we have in front of us,” Lueders said. “Gwynne’s team and my team are diligently working on getting the vehicles ready; making sure that all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed in our analysis, test data, assessments; going through all the reviews. We’re making sure that we are ready for this important mission to safely fly Bob and Doug up to the International Space Station and return them to their families.”

“We’ve worked closely with NASA since 2006,” Shotwell said. “All that work is culminating in this historic event coming up in just a few weeks.”

SpaceX’s 27th and final Mark 3 parachute test was completed May 1. Photo credit: SpaceX

One critical milestone was completed today: the 27th and final test of Crew Dragon’s enhanced Mark 3 parachute design. The parachutes will play a key role in the safe landing of the crew when the spacecraft returns to Earth.

Behnken and Hurley both are veterans of two space shuttle flights, having been selected as astronauts in the same class – the 2000 astronaut class. Behnken served as a mission specialist on STS-123 and STS-130, while Hurley was the pilot on STS-127 and STS-135 – the final flight of the program. Today, they’re preparing for their first flight together on a momentous mission.

“It’s probably a dream of every test pilot school student to have the opportunity to fly on a brand-new spaceship, and I’m lucky enough to get that opportunity with my good friend, here, Doug Hurley,” Behnken said of his friend and crewmate, seated beside him.

“It’s a great honor to be part of this mission,” Hurley added. “It’s amazing after all this time to be less than a month away from launch down in Florida.”

Behnken and Hurley truly are embarking on a test flight. While Crew Dragon is docked to the space station, mission controllers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will work with the crew to carry out a series of test objectives.

“This is really to shake down and demonstrate that all the preparations and the emergency capabilities we’ve built into this vehicle have made it reliable — as a lifeboat in a contingency aboard [station] and it’s always there as a backup to get crew members down to the ground if needed – but also reliable to carry crew members up and down on a regular and repeatable basis,” said Zeb Scoville, NASA Demo-2 flight director.

One unexpected challenge the teams have had to manage is how to deal with the arrival of the novel coronavirus. Even in the midst of the global pandemic, mission preparations have continued – with precautions. Those precautions – such as social distancing – extend to launch viewers, too.

“We won’t have the luxury of having our family and friends being there at Kennedy to watch the launch. But, obviously, it’s the right thing to do in the current environment,” Hurley said. “We want everybody to be safe. We want everybody to enjoy this and relish this moment in U.S. space history, but be safe and enjoy it from a distance.”

Current plans call for the astronauts to arrive at Kennedy a few days prior to liftoff for one final launch dress rehearsal.

“This is a very exciting time,” Bridenstine said. “The International Space Station is a critical capability for the United States of America; having access to it is also critical. We are moving forward very rapidly with this program that is so important to our nation and, in fact, to the entire world.”

NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Mission to be Previewed in Televised May 1 Briefings

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley participate in a SpaceX test of crew flight hardware
On Monday, March 30, 2020 at a SpaceX processing facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, SpaceX successfully completed a fully integrated test of critical crew flight hardware ahead of Crew Dragon’s second demonstration mission to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley participated in the test. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA will host a series of televised briefings on Friday, May 1, to preview the upcoming Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. Demo-2 will mark the first launch of American astronauts aboard an American spacecraft from American soil since the conclusion of the space shuttle era in 2011.

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly to the station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff is slated for May 27.

Originating from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, all three briefings will be broadcast live on NASA Television and online at www.nasa.gov/live. Times are provided in Eastern.

  • 11 a.m.: The Commercial Crew and International Space Station overview news conference will include NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine; Kathy Lueders, program manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; Kirk Shireman, program manager, International Space Station Program; and Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer, SpaceX.
  • 12:30 p.m.: The mission overview news conference will include Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program deputy manager; Zeb Scoville, NASA Demo-2 flight director, Flight Operations Directorate at Johnson; and Benji Reed, SpaceX director of crew mission management.
  • 2 p.m.: The crew news conference will include both crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission: astronaut Robert Behnken, joint operations commander, and astronaut Douglas Hurley, spacecraft commander.

The Demo-2 mission will serve as an end-to-end flight test to validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, from launch to docking to splashdown at the mission’s end. It is the final flight test for the system to be certified for regular, crew flights to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Launch Date Set for First Crew Flight from U.S. Soil Since 2011

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft undergoes final processing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in preparation for the Demo-2 launch with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft undergoes final processing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, in preparation for the Demo-2 launch with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew Dragon will carry Behnken and Hurley atop a Falcon 9 rocket, returning crew launches to the space station from U.S. soil for the first time since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011. Photo credit: SpaceX

A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifting off on a Falcon 9 rocket at 4:32 p.m. EDT on May 27, from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, for an extended stay at the space station for the Demo-2 mission. The specific duration of the mission is to be determined.

As the final flight test for SpaceX, this mission will validate the company’s crew transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, and operational capabilities. This also will be the first time NASA astronauts will test the spacecraft systems in orbit.

The Demo-2 mission will be the final major step before NASA’s Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew Dragon for operational, long-duration missions to the space station. This certification and regular operation of Crew Dragon will enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station, which benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars with the agency’s Artemis program.

To learn more about the Demo-2 mission and crew, read the full story at https://www.nasa.gov/specials/dm2.

NASA, SpaceX Team Up for Emergency Egress Exercise

On Friday, April 3, 2020, NASA and SpaceX completed an end-to-end demonstration of the teams’ ability to safely evacuate crew members from the Fixed Service Structure during an emergency situation at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: SpaceX

Safety is a top priority as NASA and SpaceX prepare for liftoff of the company’s second demonstration flight test (Demo-2), the first flight to carry astronauts to the International Space Station onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The teams conducted an emergency egress exercise at Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 3. The end-to-end demonstration is the latest in a series of similar exercises to ensure the crew and support teams can quickly evacuate from the launch pad in the unlikely event of an emergency prior to liftoff.

Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX personnel, including the Kennedy pad rescue team, participated in the exercise. The primary objective was to demonstrate the teams’ ability to safely evacuate crew members from the launch pad during an emergency situation. Teams rehearsed locating injured personnel on the 265-foot-level of the launch tower, loading them into the pad’s slidewire baskets and safely descending the tower, then successfully loading the injured participants into Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles staged at the pad perimeter.

Scheduled for launch no earlier than May 2020, Demo-2 will be the first launch of NASA astronauts from American soil to the International Space Station since the space shuttle era. It also is the final flight test for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft system to be certified for regular flights to the station with crew onboard.

Kennedy Space Center Briefs Community Leaders on Busy Year Ahead

NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, far left, moderates a panel discussion with senior leaders of NASA and center programs during a Community Leaders Update on Feb. 18, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
NASA Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, far left, moderates a panel discussion with senior leaders of NASA and center programs during a Community Leaders Update on Feb. 18, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. From second from left are Tom Engler, director, Center Planning and Development; Jenny Lyons, deputy manager, Gateway Logistics Element; Barbara Brown, chief technologist, Exploration Research and Technology Programs; Jeremy Parsons, deputy manager, Exploration Ground Systems; and Phil Meade, associate director, Spaceport Integration and Services. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Community leaders, business executives, partners, educators and government representatives gathered at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Feb. 18, 2020, for an update on Kennedy Space Center’s accomplishments and what’s ahead for this year. Center Director Robert Cabana greeted the group and served as moderator of a panel discussion with senior leaders of NASA programs based at the center.

Trent Smith, left, NASA Veggie project manager at Kennedy Space Center, talks to an attendee about the Veggie plant growth system that is currently in use on the International Space Station, during a Community Leaders Update on Feb. 18, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Trent Smith, left, NASA Veggie project manager at Kennedy Space Center, talks to an attendee about the Veggie plant growth system that is currently in use on the International Space Station, during a Community Leaders Update on Feb. 18, 2020, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Panelists were Phil Meade, associate director, Spaceport Integration and Services; Jeremy Parsons, deputy manager, Exploration Ground Systems (EGS); Barbara Brown, chief technologist, Exploration Research and Technology (ER&T) Programs; Jenny Lyons, deputy manager, Gateway Logistics Element; and Tom Engler, director, Center Planning and Development (CPD).

The panelists gave an overview of the past year’s accomplishments, focused on what’s in store for this year and answered questions from the audience.

Artemis missions will pave the way for missions to Mars. EGS is preparing all of the ground support equipment and facilities for Artemis I. Verification and validations have been completed on the mobile launcher in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Simulations of launch countdown are taking place in Launch Control Center Firing Room 1. Teams are practicing stacking of Space Launch System boosters using pathfinder replicas. “Work is continuing on the Spaceport Command and Control System,” Parsons said. “The Orion spacecraft for Artemis I will arrive later this year.”

Steve Payne, far left, with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visits with a guest during a Community Leaders Update hosted by Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 18, 2020.
Steve Payne, far left, with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, visits with a guest during a Community Leaders Update hosted by Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 18, 2020. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflet

Gateway is NASA’s permanent lunar outpost that will be positioned in orbit around the Moon. Gateway will include a power and propulsion element and habitation modules, and eventually airlock capabilities. The center’s piece of the Gateway is logistics services, which will be used to deliver cargo, consumables and supplies for scientific research and technology demonstrations and commercial use.

“This center assignment leverages Kennedy’s extensive experience in enabling commercial services, as well as our spacecraft and payload integration and processing expertise,” Lyons said.

Teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and Space Launch System (SLS) practice SLS booster stacking with pathfinders inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on Nov. 19, 2019.
Teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and Space Launch System (SLS) practice SLS booster stacking with pathfinders inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on Nov. 19, 2019. SLS will launch the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024 through the Artemis program. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Spaceport Integration and Services is maintaining an integrated master schedule of all launches and processing activities. Kennedy and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are on track to manage more than 40 launches this year. The team continues to build relationships with commercial and government partners. The future includes keeping up with the launch demand and operating in non-traditional roles.

“We can only be successful when commercial and government space are integrated,” Cabana said.

CPD is working on attracting more businesses to the spaceport. The goal is to enable companies to be successful; but the companies need to work on achieving that success. They are supporting one of the center’s core missions: enable companies to fly what they have to space. Currently, Boeing, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are doing just that.

Food production–plants and habitats–and dust mitigation are two of the technologies being developed by ER&T. “Plant production has to be compact,” Brown said. Two growth chambers developed here are currently on the International Space Station: Veggie and the Advanced Plant Habitat. The team also is looking at regolith operations and how to dampen the effect of dust that is kicked-up as landers touchdown on surfaces such as the Moon.

“We have an amazing year ahead of us,” Cabana said. “It’s our community working together that makes it so successful.”

SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down After In-Flight Abort Test

In this image captured from NASA TV, the SpaceX Crew Dragon descends toward the Atlantic Ocean under parachutes during a test of the spacecraft's launch escape capabilities.
In this image captured from NASA TV, the SpaceX Crew Dragon descends toward the Atlantic Ocean under parachutes during a test of the spacecraft’s launch escape capabilities. Image credit: NASA TV

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft splashed down offshore in the Atlantic Ocean at 10:39 a.m. EST after a launch on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft launch from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A at the start of the test.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft launch from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A at the start of the test. Image credit: NASA TV

Teams of personnel from SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force 45th Operations Groups Detachment-3 out of Patrick Air Force Base will recover the spacecraft for return to SpaceX facilities in Florida, and a dedicated team will begin the recovery effort of the Falcon 9, which broke apart as planned.