SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk says the company’s astronaut-transporting Crew Dragon capsule “should be physically ready” at the Cape Canaveral launch site in February. But it will take “a few more months” to complete all safety reviews to authorize the flight.
The Demo-2 mission would mark the first commercial space flight to send astronauts to space. SpaceX plans to contract with NASA to regularly carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will be the first to fly to and from the space station aboard Crew Dragon for Demo-2.
SpaceX had previously hoped to carry out the crewed flight as early as November 2019. It seems the Demo-2 mission could occur as soon as Spring 2020.
Musk shared a video Sunday that shows a simulated crewed flight.
SpaceX recently completed the 10th successful test of the parachute system that will carry Crew Dragon back to Earth, again, an important safety validation for the company.
Next on the timeline for Crew Dragon is an abort test scheduled for no earlier than Jan. 11. SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon, then trigger an abort and attempt a safe landing over water. The test is a big step in showing the safety of SpaceX’s offering in the event a malfunction occurred during liftoff.
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