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Ripley the Dummy Astronaut Ready for Liftoff Onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon

In February 2018, SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into space just to show the Falcon Heavy Rocket is up for the task. Behind the wheel of the car sat Starman, an empty SpaceX suit on a ride of a lifetime.
Falcon 9 Crew Dragon ready for liftoff 3 photos
Photo: Spacex via Twitter
Ripley dummy astronautFalcon 9 Crew Dragon
On March 2, another dummy astronaut, this time named Ripley, will depart Earth for the International Space Station (ISS) onboard the Crew Dragon, the spaceship that may just represent the resurrection of crewed rocket launches from U.S. soil.

Earlier this week, the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon rolled onto the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and the combo is now vertical, awaiting a green light from mission control to take off.

It is not the first time the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon are vertical on the pad, but at the time of this writing, there’s no indication the launch will be postponed.

Saturday’s flight is an uncrewed one, meant to test the capabilities and safety of the capsule’s systems. After takeoff, the spaceship will head for the ISS where it will attempt an autonomous docking. On March 8, Crew Dragon is scheduled to return back to Earth.

NASA plans to cover all the stages of Crew Dragon’s flight on the agency’s website and on NASA Television. Following the post-flight readiness review briefing on February 22, NASA is gearing up to broadcast the pre-launch briefing and then, the historic liftoff scheduled for March 2, at 2:48 a.m ET.

If the mission is successful, the second flight will be a crewed one, scheduled to take place in June 2019. In the capsule will sit astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, both members of several Endeavour and Atlantis missions.

When fully operational, the Crew Dragon will be capable of carrying up to seven astronauts who will be seated in carbon fiber seats wrapped in Alcantara cloth.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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