SpaceX is set to send four astronauts into low-Earth orbit as part of its first operational crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
The crew, consisting of one Japanese and three US astronauts, is scheduled for lift-off shortly after midnight on Sunday, on a rocket and capsule system built by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s aerospace company.
For Nasa, it marks the beginning of using private firms as a ‘taxi service’ to fly its crew to and from the space station.
The US space agency announced this week that it had certified SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket to carry astronauts, making it the first commercial human spaceflight system in history.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said in a statement: ‘This is a great honour that inspires confidence in our endeavour … Read the rest
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