SpaceX led by billionaire Elon Musk has been awarded a $2.9 Billion contract by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the moon as early as 2024.
For the unversed, NASA chose SpaceX over Blue Origin owned by Jeff Bezos, and defence contractor Dynetics Inc.
Four astronauts aboard the SpaceX's Crew Dragon-2 arrived at the International Space Station for a six-month mission, NASA said in a statement.
"'Endeavour arriving!' Welcome to the space station, Crew 2! Their arrival means there are now 11 humans aboard our orbiting laboratory, a number not seen since the space shuttle era. Hugs abound," NASA said in a tweet on Saturday.
It was the first time that Elon Musk's SpaceX reused a capsule and a rocket to launch astronauts. The spacecraft is due to arrive at the ISS early Saturday following a flight of over 23 hours.
The four astronauts on board are NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur -- who will serve as the mission's spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihikoa-Hoshidea and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomasa-Pesquet, who will serve as mission specialists to the space station.
(Photo: NASA TV)
During Crew Dragon's flight, SpaceX will command the spacecraft from its mission control centre in Hawthorne, California, and NASA teams will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from Mission Control Center at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The Crew-2 mission is the second of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The Crew-2 members will conduct science and maintenance during a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return no earlier than October 31, according to NASA.
(With inputs from IANS)
