Second manned flight SpaceX, now with four astronauts

The launch was scheduled for last night, but was postponed for 24 hours due to strong winds. For tonight, the chance that the launch will go ahead is 50 percent, meldt NASA.

The spectacle will not differ much from the start of the first manned Dragon at the end of May, SpaceX expert Ronald Klompe expects. A few small things have been adjusted for landing. “After the first manned flight, spectacularly few improvements were needed.”

Only a few small things had to be adjusted. “The trigger for opening the parachutes went off a little too early and there was some erosion on the heat shield. That didn’t pose any danger, but it was in a place where they don’t want it to, so some harder material has been used there. “

From six to seven

It is the first time that four crew members arrive at the ISS at the same time. Since 2011, astronauts have only been able to get to the ISS with the Russian Soyuz, and it only fits three people. With two attached Soyuz capsules, the crew consisted of a maximum of six people for many years. Now that becomes seven.

That’s good news, says Klompe. “Now the crew spends a relatively large amount of time on the maintenance of the space station and that is at the expense of the time for scientific experiments. With a seventh crew member there is more time for that.”

Not enough sleeping places

It takes a while to measure and measure, because there are currently not enough personal sleeping places on the ISS. “There are six of them, so the Crew-1 commander is going to sleep in the Dragon until an extra one in a few months crew cabin comes with a cargo flight. “

The astronauts take a number of scientific experiments in the Crew Dragon. Parts of the new spacesuit that NASA plans to use on the moon are being tested and it also contains microbes that can break down rock. For astronauts to the moon or Mars, these may in the future produce nutrients for plants or raw materials for building materials.

If the flight goes well, both the Dragon and the rocket that launches the capsule will be reused. The capsule is now the first commercial spacecraft certified to transport astronauts.

The first manned flight was still part of the certification process. In the coming years, Boeing also plans to transport astronauts to the ISS, with the CST-100 Starliner. He must first make a successful unmanned test flight.

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