SpaceX and Nasa on their way to a new era in US space travel

Since 2011, the United States has relied on Russia to transport astronauts. SpaceX is now expected to usher in a new era in US space travel - with the first manned rocket launch from US soil since 2011.

• Since 2011, NASA has relied on Russian space capsules to transport astronauts to the ISS
• That should change: On May 27, 2020, a manned space capsule from SpaceX with NASA astronauts will launch to the ISS
• It is a milestone for SpaceX and the beginning of a new era for US space travel

For several years, SpaceX mixes the aerospace industry to * and now faces the most important mission in so far short history of the company: On May 27, 2020, a rocket and a space capsule of SpaceX first astronaut transport. The aim of the mission: The International Space Station .

Since the end of the space shuttle program of NASA in 2011, no astronauts have more from US soil from the ISS started, the proud spaceman nation USA and the space agency Nasa have since the Russian Soyuz space capsules depending in which they for have to buy many million dollars in seating for their astronauts . That should be over now. The new era *, in which US space travel is no longer dependent on Russia, is to be launched on May 27, 2020 * - by the private space company SpaceX of the eccentric billionaire Elon Musk .

Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon are vertical on the launch pad pic.twitter.com/2nw9h0jxde

"Crew Dragon" demo mission: SpaceX is to bring astronauts to the ISS for the first time

On this day, the two NASA veterans Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are to climb the SpaceX space capsule "Crew Dragon" . A  “Falcon 9” rocket from SpaceX is to launch this capsule into space, where the  “Crew Dragon” will reach the ISS about 19 hours later and automatically dock on the “Harmony” ISS module.

How long the two NASA astronauts will remain on board the ISS is not yet clear. The  "Crew Dragon" from SpaceX , which is used for this last test called Demo-2, can, according to the Nasa remain in orbit about 110 days. The exact length of the mission should only be determined when the astronauts are on board the ISS . The decision “is based on the availability of the next commercial crew launch,” says Nasa .

Demo-2 is the final test of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule

Nasa astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken take a close look at the "Crew Dragon". The two will be the first astronauts to be transported from SpaceX to the ISS. (Archive picture)

© SpaceX

The launch on May 27th is the final test, in which all aspects of the crew transport system are to be examined again carefully: the spacecraft "Crew Dragon" , but also the SpaceX rocket "Falcon 9" and the 39A launch site in Cape Canaveral , from where the "Apollo" missions to the moon set off before it became the launch site for the Space Shuttles.

On May 27, some things will seem routine for SpaceX : The launch and ascent of the rocket will be the same as for the unmanned  “Dragon” capsules that SpaceX has been sending to the ISS loaded with cargo since 2012 . The only difference: there are two astronauts on board . When the space capsule with its precious human cargo has safely reached an earth orbit, the two astronauts together with experts on Earth should check whether the  "Crew Dragon" is working as planned.

Astronauts in the SpaceX capsule reach the ISS after 19 hours

Then - about 19 hours after the start - the "Crew Dragon" with Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley should reach the ISS . The automatic docking process is also closely monitored - by both sides: by Chris Cassidy (USA), Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner (both Russia), the three  astronauts who are already on board the ISS, and by the two Astronauts in the space capsule .

In the time that the two test astronauts spend on board the ISS , the  "Crew Dragon" is to be tested further before Behnken and Hurley get back on board to return to Earth. Undocking from the ISS should also proceed automatically. The "Crew Dragon" will then move away from the ISS and reenter Earth's atmosphere. It is planned that the SpaceX spacecraft will water in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida, where it will be collected by a salvage ship and brought back to Cape Canaveral .

The @SpaceX Crew Dragon is rolled out to the launch pad and raised vertical ahead of the launch of @NASA astronauts @AstroBehnken & @Astro_Doug from @NASAKennedy to the @Space_Station. More #LaunchAmerica Photos: https://t.co/8due5jBg5Y pic.twitter.com/OeAeMIjxsh

SpaceX: "Crew Dragon" is part of NASA's "Commercial Crew" program

The "Crew Dragon" mission to the ISS is part of  NASA's "Commercial Crew" program . As part of this, the US space agency has commissioned SpaceX and Boeing to develop new spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts into low-Earth orbit and to the International Space Station .

In 2014, SpaceX and Boeing signed NASA contracts totaling $ 6.8 billion as part of the Commercial Crew program. For a long time, the two companies had a head-to-head race to see who would be the first private company to transport astronauts to the ISS . However, since the failed unmanned test by Boeing's “Starliner” last winter *, it has been clear: the “Crew Dragon” from SpaceX will win the race. Her unmanned test flight to the ISS in March 2019 was successful *. A capsule * then exploded, but the "Crew Dragon" has now passed all tests.

SpaceX's "Crew Dragon" will bring astronauts to the ISS in the future

If the second - this time manned - demo mission to the ISS also succeeds , the SpaceX spacecraft "Crew Dragon" is certified by NASA and then used for further missions. The next manned launch - the first in a series of regular, rotating flights to the ISS * - is already planned: NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Shannon Walker as well as Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are said to be the first "regular" astronauts on board be a  "crew dragon" .

The start date for their mission has not yet been determined, but it should be in 2020. It is planned that the astronauts will stay on the space station for about six months, because the  "Crew Dragon" should be able to remain in orbit for at least 210 days in the future, according to Nasa . First of all, everything depends on whether the launch of SpaceX on May 27 succeeds.

By Tanja Banner

* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital central editorial office.

Rubric list picture: © picture alliance / Spacex / Planet Pix via ZUMA Wire / dpa