After unforseen events ended the first attempt on Wednesday, NASA and SpaceX are now set to try to launch astronauts to the the International Space Station (ISS) today.
This will pretty much be a day to be etched into the record books considering it is the first mission to launch astronauts from the American soil on an American rocket to the ISS since 2011.
The Demo-1 mission was the uncrewed flight that launched successfuly in March this year but this time, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be taken to the ISS onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Standing down from launch today due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Our next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 27, 2020
The United States President – Donald Trump and many other dignitaries will hope the weather events that culminated in abandoning the historic event on Wednesday don’t rear its head yet again.
Why is the United States launching Astronauts to Space today?
Basically, the Demo-2 launch today is being seen as the restoration of American pride with the U.S government faced with pressing issues to resolve the high mortality rate of its citizens as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There has always been an intense space race going on between the US and Russia right from the second half of the previous century when their successes and losses became a prestige issue though peace has been attained somewhat with NASA relying on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for its launches.
Also, with the ongoing trade war between the U.S and China and with the latter already intensifying it’s space program, NASA sure don’t want leave any space uncovered.
When is the launch taking place?
The Falcon 9 rocket will lift off at 7:22pm GMT on Saturday, May 30 (8:22pm GMT+1 Saturday, Nigerian time) with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on its top.
This will be the second attempt to launch the rocket, after bad weather foiled the first attempt on Wednesday.
How to watch Crew Dragon launch Live
Launch of the spacecraft will be broadcast live on the NASA TV YouTube channel.
It will continue till the docking of spacecraft with the ISS. You will be able to watch the live stream on the SpaceX YouTube channel and website as well. Visitors at the launch site are not expected.
However, the US President Donald Trump is expected to be there again at the Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch after being present on Wednesday.
Originally Posted On NaijaTechGuy
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