Elon Musk's SpaceX had optimistic plans even after the recent Falcon 9 failure--its booster failed to stick its fifth landing and plunged the spaceship into the Atlantic Ocean far from the original plan of settling onto the very deck of a SpaceX drone ship.
According to Washington (AFP), Elon Musk's plans with SpaceX involve sending NASA's astronauts to the International Space Station or ISS sometime in May. NASA has announced that this would be the first crewed launch coming from the United States ever since 2011.
The astronauts included in the first launch
Included in SpaceX's first launch with the Falcon 9 would be two very distinguished astronauts from NASA named Bob Behnken as well as Doug Hurley. This attempt to send two astronauts is also would be a first for the space agency as it is still looking towards cutting costs.
According to US space agency in a state given on Wednesday, "NASA and SpaceX are currently targeting no earlier than mid-to-late May for launch," which shows just how determined they are to nail the exact date of the launch.
Just recently, the Crew Dragon capsule was launched
In an attempt to test out SpaceX's abilities, the Crew Dragon capsule was sent on a round trip all the way to the International Space Station, which is within the orbit of more than 250 miles or 400 kilometers above Earth! The test was done with a mannequin on board to see how the condition of a person inside the spaceship would fair. The Crew Dragon was able to return to the Atlantic after six days in space.
The last shuttle mission
There have been no recent successful attempts made by the United States to successfully do a shuttle mission ever since 2011 years after 30 years of service. The Russians have been making progress as they have been able to make trips to the International Space Station and back.
SpaceX has been doing a good job so far
Within the timeframe from now and 2012, SpaceX has already been able to complete 15 trips but only to refuel the station. This has become the main role that SpaceX has had, and now its plans for bigger roles are slowly falling into place.
Read Also : Hunt for Near-Earth Asteroids Could Be in Danger! SpaceX Starlink Might Cause Problems to Astronomers
SpaceX is not the only private company which NASA has partnered with
SpaceX has been all over the headlines along with Boeing as being the two private companies that NASA has been working with to develop spaceships and space capsules. So far, SpaceX has been making successful launches with its Crew Dragon, while Boeing is still developing its own Starliner, which is quite behind its target date.
Elon Musk's SpaceX
SpaceX has quite a lot of projects being planned out over the next few years, including its plan to send a huge number of satellites into space. The Falcon 9 is being made ready for the launch in May, which would include two of NASA's astronauts as NASA and SpaceX are confident in their timeline.
