NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch the final, major test before astronauts fly aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.
The spacecraft's crew module landed at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range at 5:48 a.m. Mountain time, after spending just over two days on orbit and checking off a number of flight test objectives.
Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT) is the second uncrewed test flight of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a partnership with the aerospace industry to launch astronauts on U.S. rockets and spacecraft from U.S. soil for the first time since 2011.
New Shepard had a wholly successful mission on December 11, 2019.
NASA has released a synopsis with the intent to purchase a seat on a private astronaut mission for a short duration single flight opportunity to the International Space Station to meet both human research and low-Earth orbit commercialization needs.
