Astronauts launch from US soil for 1st time since 2011

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken launch inside their Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 30, 2020. Credit: NASA

History has been made! For the first time since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, American astronauts have launched into space in an American spacecraft from American soil, ending a nearly nine-year gap in the United States’ ability to independently launch people to the ISS.

Riding inside a SpaceX-built Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken made their way to orbit. It was the first crewed flight of this new spacecraft and the first time a private company has sent people into orbit, albeit with development help from NASA under the Commercial Crew Program.

NASA’s Bob Behnken, foreground, and Doug Hurley, background, walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building to get in their Tesla Model X ride to Launch Complex 39A. Credit: NASA

“America has launched!” said NASA public affairs officer Dan Huot moments after liftoff. “And so rises a new era of American spaceflight and with it the ambitions of a new generation continuing the dream.”

Liftoff took place at 19:22 UTC May 30, 2020. It was the second launch attempt as the first attempt on May 27 was scrubbed because of weather.

Weather was also a concern during the May 30 attempt, but it cleared up in time for the final minutes of the countdown, allowing the Falcon 9 to launch with the crew, ending a human spaceflight gap in the United States that lasted for nearly nine years.

“SpaceX, Dragon, we’re go for launch, let’s light this candle,” Hurley said 35 seconds before liftoff.

Hurley and Behnken’s flight into orbit lasted about nine minutes. A few minutes after that, their spacecraft had separated from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 and they were on their way.

The Demo-2 duo are tasked with flying to the International Space Station where they will stay anywhere between one and three months. During that time, they’ll evaluate the Crew Dragon and help Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy — as well as Flight Engineers and Russian cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner — with various tasks aboard the outpost, including several spacewalks planned for June.

A close up photo of the nine Merlin 1D engines at the base of the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket that launched Hurley and Behnken into orbit. Credit: NASA

Hurley, 53, is the spacecraft commander for Demo-2. He is responsible for activities such as the launch (check), landing and recovery. This is his third flight into space. He first flew into space in July 2009 as pilot for the STS-127 space shuttle mission. He also piloted the final space shuttle mission in 2011.

49-year-old Behnken is the joint operations commander for Demo-2. He is responsible for rendezvous activities as well as docking and undocking. He’ll also be the one spacewalk alongside Cassidy to help install newly-arrived lithium-ion batteries.

Behnken first flew into space in 2008 aboard the STS-123 space shuttle mission. His last flight was aboard STS-130 in February 2010.

Crew Dragon is slated to take about 19 hours to arrive at the ISS. During that time, the spacecraft will perform five major phasing burns to catch up with the outpost with a docking scheduled for 14:29 UTC May 31.

Several hours after reaching orbit, Hurley and Behnken performed their first in-flight event, which also unveiled the name they chose for their spacecraft: Endeavour.

“We chose Endeavour for a few reasons,” Hurley said during the event. “One because of this incredible endeavor NASA, SpaceX and the United States has been on since the end of the shuttle program back in 2011. The other reason we named it Endeavour is a little more personal to Bob and I. We both had our first space flights on shuttle Endeavour and it just meant so much to us to carry on that name.”

Crew Dragon is 3.7 meters wide and about 8.1 meters tall, including the trunk. Inside, it has a volume of about 10 cubic meters and space for up to seven people. However, NASA only expects to fly up to four people aboard the capsule during nominal missions.

The spacecraft, sometimes also referred to as Dragon 2, is a vehicle that has been in development by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, along with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, since 2010. Despite years of delays — both technical and financial.

Demo-2 is a follow-up to the March 2019 Demo-1 mission, which saw an unpiloted Dragon 2 spacecraft autonomously dock with the ISS.

This mission is baselined for a month-long stay, but could be extended to up to about 110 days. The limiting factor is the degradation of the solar cells on the spacecraft’s trunk, NASA said. However, operational Dragon 2 spacecraft are expected to be able to stay on orbit for up to 210 days.

At the end of their mission, Hurley and Behnken will undock from the ISS before performing a deorbit burn about two days later. The duo and their spacecraft are expected to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral and are slated to be picked up by SpaceX's Go Navigator recovery vessel.

Once Demo-2 is complete and NASA certifies the spacecraft for operational use, the next mission is slated to bring four new crew members to the ISS via SpaceX's Crew-1 mission, also called U.S. Crew Vehicle 1. The astronauts to fly aboard that mission are NASA's Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, as well as Japan's Soichi Noguchi.

Crew-1 could fly as soon as Aug. 30. The astronauts are expected to stay aboard the ISS until at least the first quarter of 2021.