During this really odd time, filled with uncertainty and strife, we are starting to see things start to get back to normal. Of course, our enigmatic real life Tony Stark, Elon Musk, has launched the Demo 2 mission. What exactly was it, and why was it such a record breaking launch?
First let’s describe the rocket itself, the Endeavor is a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket weighing approximately 553,254 kilograms. This massive weight is due in part to its enormous payload carrying capacity (around 22,800 kg), but is mostly due to the amount of fuel carried by it. The Falcon 9 Block 5 is a relatively new vessel and is classified as a “two-stage-to-orbit medium lift launch vehicle,” which essentially means it is able to carry a crew or a large amount of cargo. The rocket itself has a very very good track record, but that could also be due to its novel nature. Out of 29 attempted launches, it has had exactly 29 successful missions, so 100% accuracy is not bad. The rocket burns liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellants as fuel. It was this rocket that was used for the Demo 2 mission (as it has proven itself quite an efficient rocket).
The mission, Demo 2 was originally supposed to be launched on May 27th, but due to the bad weather, the mission was aborted. On May 30th, Elon Musk launched his rocket. Demo 2 sought to complete a task that hadn’t been completed since 2011. SpaceX performed the first orbital crewed launch to depart from American soil since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in that year. The Demo 2 mission sent 2 astronauts (Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley) into the ISS. This mission was a landmark mission for SpaceX, as it was the first ever crewed mission ever sent out by Musk. The main point of the mission was not to send people to the ISS, that had been done before, the main point of the mission was to prove that it could be done. Elon was trying to prove that the Falcon 9 was capable of transporting a human crew at least as far as the ISS, which is why it was such a landmark. After almost a decade, we were able to prove that we can still be in space, we still have the capability to send out men into the vast regions of infinite space. In about 30-90 days, the whole crew will be brought back to Earth (along with the toy Apatosaurus “tremor” that they brought along to the amusement of the crew’s son’s).
The amount of people who watched along with the launch also broke a record for internet viewership as over 10.3 million people across the globe concurrently logged on to watch this historic launch together. Around 150,000 people were in the Florida beaches trying to catch a glimpse of this rocket before it made it outside of our planet’s gravitational reach. After making history, even in a backdrop of political turmoil and the outbreak of a dangerous virus, let’s revel in the accomplishments of man and hope to welcome back our heroes in another 30-90 days with their little dinosaur toy as well.
Works Cited
“Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) (Falcon-9FT (Block 5)).” Space.Skyrocket.De, space.skyrocket.de/doc_lau_det/falcon-9_v1-2_b5.htm.
“Crew Dragon Demo-2.” Wikipedia, 3 June 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_Dragon_Demo-2. Accessed 3 June 2020.
—. Wikipedia, 3 June 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_Dragon_Demo-2.