NASA SpaceX Dragon Mission

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What is Nasa SpaceX dragon mission?
The crew dragon is spacecraft that will transport astronauts to the ISS(International space station) on Saturday.It is a sleek evolution of the dragon spacecraft which was built to ferry cargo to the orbiting outpost.The crew dragon is designed to carry maximum of  seven passengers but Nasa flights will carry four,with the rest of the space taken up by supplies.
It is equipped with thrusters that enable it to manoeuvre in space and will dock-or attach-to the space station under autonomous control.

What is SpaceX?
SpaceX is an American company that provides government and commercial launch services on its falcon and falcon heavy rockets.Entreprenuer Elon Musk founded the company in 2002,with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation on Mars.
SpaceX was the first private company to routinely return rocket stages to Earth under propulsive power so they could be re-flown rather than being discarded.It has been conducting regular flights of cargo to the ISS,and will now aim to begin launching astronauts.

Why is a private company launching Nasa astronauts?
Nasa has been planning to hand over the transport of crew to the International space station since the early 2003.After the Columbia space shuttle broke up during its return to Earth in 2003,the space agency focused on developing a replacement spaceship that could travel to the moon.
Involving private firms in the transfer of crew and cargo to the ISS was the neccessary step to afford that programme.In 2014,entreprenuer Elon Musk's company SpaceX and aerospace giant Boeing were announced as winners of Nasa contract for crew transport services.SpaceX is launching its spacecraft first;the Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off on Saturday atop a falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

Who are the astronauts flying to space?
Bob Behnken - He will be the joint operation commander for the mission,responsible for activities such as rendezvous,docking and undocking,as well as Demo-2 activities while the spacecraft is docked to the space station.Before joining NASA Behnken was a flight test engineer with the U.S. Air Force.
Doug Hurley - He will be the spacecraft commander for Demo-2,responsible for activities such as launch,landing and recovery.Before joining NASA,he was a fighter pilot and test pilot in U.S. Marine Corps.

Conclusion:If the mission is successful,SpaceX will proceed with the "operational" missions to the ISS they are required to fly under the $2.6 billion contract with Nasa.


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