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Space X Second Launch Attempt: The Mission That Can Make History In Space

2020-05-31T05:42:14.354Z


If time permits, Elon Musk's rocket will take off at 16:22 Argentine time. It is the most dangerous and high-level project entrusted by NASA to a private company.


Paula Lugones

05/30/2020 - 14:12

  • Clarín.com
  • Society

Everything is ready so that this Saturday at 16:22, Argentina time, and if time permits, two American astronauts launch into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida on a rocket from the company Space X, by businessman Elon Musk, in the most dangerous and high-level manned mission entrusted by NASA to a private company.

It is the second attempt after a thunderstorm launch failed on Wednesday. The weather will not be perfect this Saturday at that time either: experts calculate that there is a 50% chance that the mission will be canceled . The weather is not only monitored over Florida's Kennedy Space Center but also takes into account how it is in the Atlantic, where the capsule is expected to drop if there is an emergency . If today it can not be specified, it will be tried again tomorrow Sunday.

There is enormous expectation because it may be the beginning of the era of commercial flights to space. If everything works as planned, the American astronauts Bob Behnken (49 years old) and Doug Harley (53) will be the first to leave from the United States since 2011, since since the frustrated launches of the ferries the Americans had to fly from Russian territory and with Soyuz rockets from that country. The goal is to reach the International Space Station, which orbits 400 kilometers above sea level at 27,000 kilometers per hour, and where they have to stay until August. The launch can be seen live from the NASA site.

As planned, the astronauts will say goodbye to their wives and children and arrive at the rocket aboard an electric car from the firm of the enterprising billionaire Musk, the owner of Tesla and the Pay Pal payment system, whose dream today is to have the keys of space to take passengers to a new dimension, if possible to the Moon and Mars. It is the first time that NASA, although it financed part of the project, does not control the show because the mission is in charge of Space X , the company founded by Musk in 2002.

The astronauts will then go up an elevator to the Crew Dragon capsule in their special white, US-flag and SpaceX suits, designed by José Fernández, the expert who makes the costumes for superhero movies. The Falcon 9 rocket's propulsion will fire until everything is ready to go.

Astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken (right) on Wednesday. (SpaceX / AP)

The launch will be carried out despite the terrible coronavirus pandemic that has caused more than 350,000 deaths (almost 100,000 in the United States) and has the world on edge. The astronauts maintained a strict 14-day quarantine before leaving for the International Space Station. Once in orbit, the capsule with Hurley and Behnken will take 19 hours to dock at the station. The astronauts, who have each orbited twice on shuttle missions in the past, could stay there until early August. The return trip will be like that of the Apollo capsules : they will fall into the ocean, in this case the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida.

Trump on Wednesday, in the launch that was aborted due to bad weather. (Reuters)

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, will be present, along with his wife Melania and Vice Mike Pence. He will thus become the third acting president of the country to observe the departure of a manned flight, after Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. It will be a great event for the head of the White House, who is seeking re-election in November. Trump had promised to re-launch a manned mission to the Moon in 2024, and this launch could bring him closer to his goal without having to spend too much money, scarce in times of deep crisis.

For the United States, the launch is a source of pride . Since the failure of space shuttles (after two fatal accidents, that of the Challenger in 1986 and that of the Columbia in 2003), the country used Russian rockets to travel into space at the cost of $ 90 million each trip.

The big news if this Saturday's launch is finalized is that NASA would have launched men into space from the hand of a private company, which may usher in the era of commercial flights into space . SpaceX went down in history by becoming the first non-state company to dock a capsule with supplies to the Space Station in 2012. Two years later, NASA ordered to move toward astronaut dispatch, adapting the Dragon capsule for passenger transport. . SpaceX won the race at Boeing and is on the verge of achieving Musk's and his company's obsession.

The program, in which NASA has invested more than $ 3 billion , is three years behind schedule. After a successful unmanned test flight last year, a Crew Dragon capsule exploded during a ground test of the thrusters. The development of the four large capsule parachutes for the return also experienced some setbacks. But after thousands of reviews, NASA said it was ready to put two of its astronauts on top of the 500-ton fuel-filled rocket.

The ship on Wednesday. The launch was aborted due to bad weather. (AP)

Enthusiasm is important. Due to the pandemic, NASA limited the number of officials, journalists and spectators at the Kennedy Center and asked the public to stay away from Cocoa Beach, the traditional launching observation point, although fans of space exploration, which was also gathered there on Wednesday during the first attempt.

If the mission ends successfully, regular manned astronaut flights to the Space Station will begin. But Musk's ambition is to be able to take ordinary tourists there or make them orbit the Earth, paying millions.

Washington. Correspondent

Source: clarin

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