Astronauts are expected to take off from US soil again - the date for the first flight has been set

It will be a very special moment for the proud space nation of the USA: The date has been set for the first time that astronauts will set off from US soil again.

• The United States can not since 2011. astronauts into more All transport and on Russia instructed
• The  “Commercial Crew” program is supposed to change that - SpaceX and Boeing build spaceships
• Now it is clear when the first astronauts will launch from US soil - and with which spaceship

It would be a milestone in US space travel, the beginning of a new era *: On May 27, the private US space company SpaceX plans to transport astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time . On this day, at 16:32 local time (00:32 German time on May 28th) a "Falcon 9" rocket from SpaceX is to launch the two NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Douglas Hurley into space. The two are said to sit in the  "Crew Dragon" , a space capsule from SpaceX that has so far flown unmanned to the ISS in March 2019 * and has come back successfully *. At the beginning of the year, the emergency rescue system was successfully tested *.

Since the termination of the space shuttle program in 2011, the United States has relied on the Russian Soyuz space capsules in manned space flight , which alone ensure that the International Space Station is always occupied. The flight on May 27th would be the first manned space flight from US soil since 2011 - a proud moment for the US space nation.

Nasa will soon no longer need a Russian capsule - SpaceX flies astronauts

After the shuttle program was discontinued, the US space organization Nasa commissioned SpaceX and its competitor Boeing to develop and build transportation options for astronauts. This first manned flight is part of  NASA's Commercial Crew program . The mission is considered a demo mission, how long it will take is not yet clear. What is certain, however, is that this is the last test for SpaceX : if everything goes smoothly, the "Crew Dragon" transport system is certified for long-term missions to the ISS .

The astronauts Behnken and Hurley have been training with the  "Crew Dragon" for some time . Behnken flew with space shuttles in 2008 and 2010 and completed a total of three outdoor missions. Hurley has also been to Space Shuttles twice so far, including the last time a shuttle flew into space in July 2011.

BREAKING: On May 27, @NASA will once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil! With our @SpaceX partners, @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken will launch to the @Space_Station on the #CrewDragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Let's #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/RINb3mfRWI

SpaceX has launched the first US astronauts into space since 2011

After launching from Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida, it will take 24 hours for the  "Crew Dragon" to dock on the ISS. Numerous tests are to be carried out beforehand. The spaceship is to dock automatically with the ISS , but astronauts can take control at any time.

While things are apparently going well for SpaceX , competitor Boeing is lagging behind: The "Starliner's" unmanned test flight in December 2019 went wrong * - the spaceship didn't even reach the ISS - so a new test flight is planned.

By Tanja Banner

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