WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) Two NASA astronauts are awaiting to blast off to the International Space Station aboard the world's first commercially built spacecraft to be launched later on Wednesday in the first mission from US soil in nine years, a live broadcast of the event showed.
Wearing 3-D printed and flame-retardant suits, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are seated inside the Dragon capsule atop of the 80-meter tall Falcon 9 carrier rocket. After a series of communication checks the hatch was closed behind the duo.
Their milestone journey started with waiving good bye to their families and US Vice President Mike Pence from a coronavirus-proof distance and being taxied in Tesla vehicles to the launch pad, once used to propel Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 historic mission to the Moon.
The launch hinges on the weather with the probability of a go-ahead estimated now at 50 percent. The next start window is expected on Saturday.
The Dragon capsule and the Falcon 9 carrier rocket were constructed by Elon Musks's Space X company for NASA which has been seeking domestic capabilities since it retired the shuttle fleet in 2011 and relied on Russian spacecraft.
For SpaceX, the launch represents the final flight test of the transportation system and will provide critical data toward its certification for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the space station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
