SpaceX just completed a successful uncrewed test of its Crew Dragon capsule’s in-flight launch escape capabilities last night.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 19, 2020 [Read: SpaceX aims to provide consumers broadband through Starlink by next year] Speaking with the press after the test, Musk said the company expects the crewed mission’s hardware to be ready by the end of Q1: NASA’s initial plan was to send astronauts for a couple of weeks, but now it’s considering keeping them on ISS to conduct research for a longer duration. The space agency’s administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said a lengthened mission will require some additional training for the crew: Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who will travel to the ISS, said that they were excited to see how everything was going according to the plan.
They’ll be the first to fly on the second #CrewDragon mission to the @Space_Station! ? pic.twitter.com/jMGnvsvme9 — NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) January 19, 2020 NASA has paid SpaceX over $3.1 billion, after the latter won the contract to fly manned missions for the agency in 2014. Once these missions commence, it will also pay the private company $55 million per astronaut for a seat on a flight. In 2011, NASA shut down its Space Shuttle program, and have relied on the space agencies of other countries, like Russia, to send their astronauts in space. If the upcoming mission by SpaceX is successful, the agency will need to rely less on other countries, and could also save money on future launches.
