Mary-Louise Hoffman
A team of SpaceX and NASA flight controllers has conducted a simulation activity to practice the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.
The virtual rehearsal sought to prepare the capsule, astronauts and support teams for the Demo-2 crewed flight test, as well as help them manage procedures and address potential challenges during the actual spaceflight, according to a NASA blog post published Friday.
SpaceX completed a test run of the Crew Dragon and its test dummy to the orbiting laboratory in March. The Demo-1 mission also demonstrated a new launch configuration of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA assigned two astronauts to participate in the upcoming manned flight and asked them to work with personnel who will provide ground-based mission support from launch to landing.
Demo-2 could pave the way for certification of the SpaceX vehicle for crewed missions to the space station under the NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
