On May 27, SpaceX and NASA’s eagerly anticipated SpaceX Demo-2 mission with its Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off, making the first time astronauts have been launched to space from U.S. soil since 2011. Fittingly, Tesla will play a small role in the mission.
With less than two weeks to go until the launch, images have been shared of the Tesla Model X with NASA stickers that will transport astronauts Bob Behnken and Col. Doug Hurley to the launch pad.
Super exciting day coming up! https://t.co/7ZdFsJE9zR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 13, 2020
Read Also: Here’s Where Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster Is After Two Years In Space
An animation from NASA provides us a preview of what the mission will entail. The astronauts will first be transported to the launch pad in the Model X before walking across the bridge linking the launch tower to the Falcon 9. The two astronauts will then launch into space before the spacecraft separates from the rocket and docks with the International Space Station.
https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1260667420777353216
The Crew Dragon capsule will then undock from the ISS at the conclusion of the mission and fall back to Earth with a parachute that will gently guide it into the ocean where it will be picked up by a boat.
SpaceX and NASA have previously completed a full uncrewed demo mission and, since then, Tech Crunch reports that Musk’s space company has improved its parachute design and flown an escape system abort test to show what will happen in the event of a problem with the launch vehicle after it has taken off.
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