After many official discussions, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-1 is finally locked in for launch this coming February. While the exact day for that launch has not yet been revealed, some details about the next manned Crew Dragon mission have been confirmed. Here's what we know so far.
According to Teslarati's report, the Demo-2 launch will likely happen around June or July. The next launch after Demo-1 is confirmed to have the Crew Dragon onboard, and this would technically be another large manned spaceflight event after SpaceX launched a roadster into space last year. As of now, the Demo-1's exact launch date in February is still under discussion, but it's been confirmed that it won't be postponed to after February.
So far, the Demo-1 spaceflights are still testing most of its spacecraft components. However, both SpaceX and NASA might just be adding the finishing touches since its scheduled launch is just a few weeks away.
For now, the Starship's design has showed that it is shaped like a "rocketship" usually seen in cartoon renditions of an actual spacecraft. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said that the actual spaceship will have more windows and furnishings as the whole surface of the spacecraft barely has any windows or visible doorways on it. Meanwhile, the other SpaceX rockets launched into space are way thinner, leaner and also more affordable versions of the spacecraft previously used back in the Apollo 11 launches.
The upcoming SpaceX launches are scheduled for Jan. 23 and Feb. 9. The Jan. 23 flight is the Falcon 9 B1051's static fire, while the Feb. 9 is the Demo-1 Crew Dragon launch. Again, the Demo-1 flight is a test run with the current specs of the spacecraft to see if it'll be enough to keep the crew alive once the manned spaceflight happens.
As of now, we're still months away from manned spaceflights. For now, we can only monitor updates from NASA, SpaceX or even Musk himself to know more about the Demo-2 details after Demo-1 is finally sent into orbit.
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