NASA Asks Fans to Not Travel to Florida Kennedy Space Center to Watch SpaceX’s Upcoming Dragon Demo-2 Astronaut Launch
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine urged people to stay at home in the coming month during the historic Dragon Demo-2 launch because of the fear of novel coronavirus that has gripped nations across the world. The event at Florida which would otherwise be a huge spectacle, will be streamed online for space enthusiasts to watch it from home, safely while quarantining.
It is a historic launch for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX. The upcoming SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Demo-2, set to launch on May 27, 2020, will be NASA’s first mission to launch astronauts into space from the United States soil since the agency’s first shuttle program ended in 2011. It will be an exciting day for the agency and even space fans, but NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine urged people to stay at home in the coming month during the historic launch because of the fear of novel coronavirus that has gripped nations across the world. The event at Florida Kennedy Space Centre, which would otherwise be a huge spectacle, will be streamed online for space enthusiasts to watch it from home, safely while quarantining. Asteroid 1998 OR2 to Flyby Earth on April 29, New Pics of Huge Space Rock Appear Like It's Wearing a Mask!
Bridenstine through an hour-long video conference made the public plea ahead of the historic launch. “Yes, we are moving forward [with Demo-2],” the NASA administrator was quoted in Space.com. He added, “We are very excited about launching commercial crew.” The event would expect a large crowd of space fans gathering to the John F. Kennedy Space Center, if there was no pandemic. But Bridenstine urged people not to do so and instead watch the Crew Dragon Demo-2 launch from home online. The NASA administrator in the same report stated that the space centre would be closed to the public during the launch, which means viewing tickets will not be available. NASA Astronauts, Russian Cosmonaut Make Safe Return From International Space Station to Earth Roiled by COVID-19 Pandemic.
“We are asking people to join us in this launch, but to do so from home. We're asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center,” Bridenstine was quoted in the report. But people need not have to upset as NASA would make the launch, stream online for the space fans to watch it from home, safely. Besides, the space agency is also taking precautions. Despite the pandemic, they are going ahead with the launch on its scheduled date, but Bridenstine said that any employees who feel uncomfortable working on the project during this time, may request to be assigned to another position or role that can be done from home.
No request on the reassignment has been made so far as “this is a very exciting project and the NASA workforce is very excited about it,” Bridenstine said in the report. The Crew Dragon Demo-2 will be the first crewed spaceflight to the International Space Station launched from the US soil since its final space shuttle mission, STS-135 in 2011. The upcoming SpaceX Demo-2 mission will launch NASA astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the station.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2020 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).