Astronauts are preparing to ride SpaceX Crew Dragon in October

Featured Image Source: NASA

SpaceX became the first American private company to successfully launch and return NASA Astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) this year. In May, a Falcon 9 rocket launched NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft during a demonstration mission called Demo-2; meant to certify the capsule is safe to carry out crewed voyages. After two months at the orbiting laboratory, the brave duo returned on August 2 aboard the craft -splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean. It was SpaceX’s first crewed mission that impressively returned human spaceflight capabilities to the United States after NASA spent nearly a decade dependent on Russian spacecraft to ferry astronauts.

SpaceX is now preparing to launch four astronauts on its second crewed flight under the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The operational mission is referred to as Crew-1; It is scheduled to liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 23. The four astronauts that will ride Crew Dragon during next month’s Crew-1 mission are three NASA astronauts and one Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut. With NASA are: Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins, joint-commander Pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Shannon Walker, along with JAXA mission specialist Soichi Noguchi. Their mission is expected to be a longer duration stay at the space station. Crew-1 astronauts will make-up Expedition 64 and stay at the orbiting lab for around 6 months conducting scientific experiments in microgravity. Experiments in the orbiting laboratory have enabled scientists to create advanced treatments and technology for use on Earth. The astronauts at ISS are always conducting important research to return the results.

Crew-1 has been preparing to conduct these vital experiments, as well as undergoing training on computer simulators to know every function and procedure aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. To familiarize themselves with the spacecraft, the astronauts train with an interactive simulator and touchscreen interface that is a replica of Dragon’s cockpit. Earlier this year, SpaceX released an online game that allows players to try to dock the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the Space Station, using similar controls the astronauts will use during their voyage in space. You can play the online game, linked in the Tweet below.

Crew Dragon missions will autonomously dock and undock with the space station, but crew can take manual control of the spacecraft if necessary

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 12, 2020

Crew Dragon is capable of operating with full autonomy. However, during the Demo-2 mission, one of the test objectives was to switch to manual control to test the craft’s capabilities. Behnken and Hurley tested the manual feature to ensure the system works in case future crews need to pilot craft due to a technology glitch or emergency. The Crew-1 astronauts must familiarize themselves with the function just in case they need it in flight.

The astronauts have to be prepared for any potential scenario during liftoff and landing as well. Crew-1 recently went over a water egress drill and launchpad evacuation training to ensure the crew and support teams can quickly evacuate from the launch pad in the unlikely event of an emergency prior to liftoff. During a launch pad evacuation drill, the crew practices to get off the craft and run towards slide-wire baskets to rapidly descend the 265-foot-level launch tower. Then the astronauts ride into a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, which is an armored car that waits for the astronauts on the ground to transport them to safety.