With the possibility of a delay due to thunderstorms and tornadoes, two astronauts from the POT this Wednesday they boarded a company rocket SpaceX for a launch considered a huge leap forward for the commercial space travel business. Read: Banxico sees drop of up to 8.8% of GDP
It would be the first time that a private company has put humans into orbit, and it would be the first time in nearly a decade that astronauts depart from American soil. Since the shuttle’s retirement in 2011, NASA has used Russian rockets launched from Kazakhstan to transport its astronauts to the space station.
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Two space veterans, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, plan to take off to the International Space Station in the brand new Dragon capsule, mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket at 4.33 p.m., from the same platform used by the Apollo lunar missions half a century ago. .
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With smiles and the traditional thumbs-up greeting, in the presence of Vice President Mike Pence, the two men said goodbye to their families with kisses and hugs from a distance before leaving for the platform in a Tesla SUV, another product of the founder from SpaceX, Elon Musk.
Thunder was heard in the distance as vehicles headed for the rocket. Additionally, shortly after astronauts entered the capsule, a tornado warning was issued.
NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley (left) and Roberto Behnken. Photo: NASA.gov
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With two and a half hours to go before launch, controllers said the probability of completion was just 40% due to thunderstorms. In the event of a postponement, the next opportunity would be Saturday.
The preparations took place in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused nearly 100,000 deaths in the United States. NASA went ahead with the launch despite the pandemic, but asked the public to stay home to reduce the risk of contagion. The beaches and parks along the Florida space coast are open again.
The last time astronauts were sent from Florida was on the final flight of the NASA shuttle in July 2011. Hurley was the pilot of that mission.
Hurley, 53, and Behnken, 49, have traveled twice to space, but on ferries.
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NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to bring astronauts to the space station, after they began to carry commercial cargo into space. However, the development of Boeing’s SpaceX Dragon and Starliner pods took longer than expected, and in the meantime the United States was paying Russia to transport NASA astronauts.
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