{"id":18126,"date":"2019-03-02T20:43:37","date_gmt":"2019-03-02T12:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacexs-crew-dragon-spaceship-makes-maiden-flight-with-robo-rider-named-ripley\/"},"modified":"2019-03-02T20:43:37","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T12:43:37","slug":"spacexs-crew-dragon-spaceship-makes-maiden-flight-with-robo-rider-named-ripley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacexs-crew-dragon-spaceship-makes-maiden-flight-with-robo-rider-named-ripley\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spaceship makes maiden flight with robo-rider named Ripley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SpaceX
SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending its first Crew Dragon spaceship skyward with a spacesuit-wearing mannequin seated inside. (SpaceX Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon was sent into space atop a Falcon 9 rocket tonight, beginning a crucial test of a spaceship that\u2019s destined to carry NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

Liftoff took place right on time at 2:49 a.m. ET Saturday (11:49 p.m. PT Friday) from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the origin point for the last shuttle mission as well as for trips to the moon in the Apollo era.<\/p>\n

Within minutes, the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage put the uncrewed capsule into orbit, while the first-stage booster made a successful at-sea landing on a drone ship stationed hundreds of miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n

The late-night event, watched by hundreds of onlookers near the Florida launch site and thousands of webcast witnesses, kicked off the first orbital flight of a privately built spaceship designed to carry humans.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s successful launch marks a new chapter in American excellence, getting us closer to once again flying American astronauts on American rockets from American soil,\u201d NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said via Twitter. He called the mission a \u201crevolutionary step on our path to get humans to the moon, Mars and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk looked tired but happy at a post-launch news conference. \u201cTo be frank, I\u2019m a little emotionally exhausted, because it was super-stressful,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cBut it worked \u2026 so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although no humans are aboard this first Crew Dragon capsule, you could argue that there\u2019s a mechanical crew member. SpaceX placed a spacesuit-wearing, sensor-laden mannequin in one of the Dragon\u2019s seats, to gauge how rigorous the ride will be for actual astronauts later this year.<\/p>\n

Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX\u2019s vice president of build and flight reliability, shied away from calling the test device a dummy. \u201cWe call it a \u2018smartie,\u2019 and her name is Ripley,\u201d he said at a pre-launch briefing.<\/p>\n

The name pays tribute to the spaceflying character played by Sigourney Weaver in the \u201cAlien\u201d series of sci-fi movies. It also brings a bit of anthropomorphic gender balance to SpaceX\u2019s test mannequins: For last year\u2019s maiden launch of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket, the test payload included a Tesla Roadster with a dummy nicknamed \u201cStarman\u201d in the driver\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n