China News Agency, Houston, May 30 (Reporter Zeng Jingning) On May 30 local time, the first manned test flight of NASA's Commercial Manned Aviation Program (CPP) was successfully launched.
At 3:22 p.m. EDT, American astronauts Douglas Hurley (Doug) and Robert Benken (Bob) boarded the SpaceX manned "Dragon" spacecraft. The Eagle 9 rocket was launched into space from the 39A launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station at 2:27 p.m. EDT.
According to NASA's official website, this task is called "Demo-2" and SpaceX performs the task.
"Falcon 9" consists of two-stage carrier rockets. About 2.5 minutes after the rocket took off, the first stage rocket thruster went out and performed the separation mission. At this time, the spacecraft reached an altitude of 85 kilometers. The first stage rocket successfully returned to the rocket receiving station on the Atlantic Ocean about 9 minutes after launch;
About 12 minutes after the rocket lifted off, the second-stage rocket booster went out and performed the separation mission. At this time, the spacecraft reached 201 kilometers above ground. This stage marked the successful entry of the manned "Dragon" spacecraft into Earth orbit and the first commercial manned sea trial launch mission.
This flight ended NASA's 9-year manned rocket launch. NASA stated that this is a new chapter in the space flight of American astronauts since the US "Atlantis" completed its metabolic curtain journey on the US space shuttle.
The Associated Press stated that the mission was carried out in the haze of the outbreak of the New Crown Virus in the United States and the anti-racial discrimination riots. The New Crown epidemic has caused more than 100,000 deaths in the United States. The Minneapolis City Police is suspected of violent law enforcement resulting in the death of African-American man George Floyd, which has triggered riots across the United States. The media said that NASA and its people hope that the flight will boost morale.
Before the launch, NASA Administrator Jim Bradenstein said, "Maybe Americans can stop now", "Look at how the United States can do extraordinary things in difficult times."
NASA stated that this mission will be the final test flight of the manned "Dragon" spacecraft, which aims to test the astronaut's spaceflight operation capabilities of the manned spaceflight system. The system was jointly developed by SpaceX and NASA. The mission is to send two astronauts to the International Space Station, stay for 1 or 4 months, and then return to Earth.
NASA pointed out that if the sea trial is successful, NASA will certify that the manned "Dragon" spacecraft has long-term operational capabilities to and from the International Space Station.
At present, the manned "Dragon" spacecraft waits for the opportunity in orbit, and then activates the spacecraft's booster, and plans to rise to the height of the International Space Station within 19 hours to perform the tasks of approaching, docking and docking with the space station.
53-year-old retired Marine Doug and 49-year-old Air Force Colonel Bob are both space shuttle veterans. Affected by the new crown epidemic, the two have been quarantined in March of this year and have been tested for new crown virus at least twice.
The manned "Dragon" spacecraft they boarded arrived at the International Space Station automatically after planning a path by scientists and using navigation control. However, to ensure safety, before the launch, the two practiced hundreds of manual flight operations to prevent abnormal situations.
On the 30th, hundreds of people watched the rocket launch at the scene. US President Trump and Vice President Pence also flew to the scene to watch. According to NASA statistics, more than 3 million viewers watched the live broadcast online. (Finish)