SpaceX Crew Capsule Atop Falcon 9 at Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center Set for Launch Jan. 17
By Space Coast Daily // January 7, 2019
launch date could be pushed back to February due to partial government shutdown
BREVARD COUNTY • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA – The Crew Dragon spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, is undergoing a series of tests and checks before blast off on its first orbital test flight, currently set for Jan. 17.
It has been eight years since Atlantis was launched on the last space shuttle from the same pad on July 8, 2011.
The launch date could possibly be pushed back to February due to the partial government shutdown that has affected NASA.
“About a month away from the first orbital test flight of crew Dragon,” said SpaceX leader Elon Musk Saturday on Twitter.
No astronauts will be on board for this demonstration mission, but this is the first launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, a spacecraft that will soon transport astronauts to the International Space Station.
It is time for a new era of space exploration where astronauts once again launch into space from American soil.
Under the Commercial Crew Program, NASA and industry partners prepare for the next generation of American spacecraft that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station from here, the Space Coast of Florida.
If the test launches go well, SpaceX could be ready to launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station by midyear.
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