Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of May 31-June 6, 2020 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. The House is in a newly defined period of “committee work days” where committees may meet via videoconference. The House will next meet for legislative business on June 30.
Kudos to NASA and SpaceX rang out from many directions today as the Demo-2 test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon began its mission following a successful launch at 3:22 pm ET. Among those showering praise were President Trump and Vice President Pence, but the sentiments seemed most palpable between the two partners who made it all happen — NASA and SpaceX themselves.
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 3:22 pm ET today, the first astronauts to head to orbit from American soil since the final space shuttle mission in 2011. This test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is expected to open a new era in human spaceflight where private sector companies own the transportation systems and take not only government astronauts to orbit, but anyone who can afford a ticket.
The countdown got all the way to T-17 minutes, but the weather did not cooperate and the launch of SpaceX’s Demo-2 had to scrub for today. The next opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 pm ET. Earlier today, the weather forecast showed 60 percent favorable, but that dropped to just 40 percent as the evening progressed.
The weather outlook improved slightly today for the historic launch of the SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station tomorrow. The first launch of astronauts from American soil since 2011 is scheduled for 4:33:33 pm ET. Demo-2 is a crewed test flight that, if successful, will lead to regular operational flights of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA said today the first in that series, Crew-1, is targeted for August 30.
If the weather cooperates, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will lift off from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday afternoon, the first astronauts to launch from American soil since 2011. The Demo-2 crewed flight test of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon cleared its Launch Readiness Review today. But the weather could be a problem. If the launch must be delayed, there are backup opportunities on May 30 and May 31.
Virgin Orbit’s air-launched LauncherOne rocket failed to reach orbit today. Dropped from its Cosmic Girl 747 carrier aircraft over the Pacific Ocean, something went wrong with the rocket’s first stage. The company will investigate the problem and vows to move forward with another attempt “ASAP.”
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of May 24-30, 2020 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in recess this week. The House is in session on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Demo-2 crewed test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon cleared its Flight Readiness Review (FRR) today. NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk said the decision was unanimous. The mission still must pass a Launch Readiness Review on Monday and NASA and SpaceX officials insist they will launch only when they are ready, but the outlook for a May 27 launch at 4:33 pm ET is quite favorable. May 30 is a backup launch date.
The Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for the first flight of astronauts to orbit from the United States since 2011 will continue tomorrow, May 22. NASA had said earlier that extending the FRR for a second day was a possibility. It does not indicate that unexpected issues arose today. The launch remains scheduled for May 27.