US astronauts heading back to space on American rockets in July: NASA

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Trump vowed to send US astronauts “back to space on American rockets” during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night — and now NASA officially has a launch date.

The agency on Wednesday selected March 2 as the date for the first unmanned test flight, and a [yet to be named] date in July for when US spacemen finally [travel] into orbit from American soil.

Astronauts haven’t been launched from the US since [President Obama] shuttered NASA’s longstanding shuttle program in 2011. [Since then, the U.S. has been dependent on the Russian government for access to the International Space Station.]

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has been working with SpaceX “throughout the month of January” to make sure it is “ready to learn critical information that will further help us to fly our crews safely,” officials said.

SpaceX’s “Crew Dragon” capsule will be used for both launches, the second of which will send two US astronauts to the International Space Station. …

“NASA’s Commercial Crew Program will return human spaceflight launches to US soil, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit and the space station,” the agency said, “on systems that meet safety and performance requirements.”

The first two SpaceX flights will ultimately be “dress rehearsals” for future missions that feature astronauts aboard, according to officials.

NASA also hopes to send astronauts into space using capsules made by Boeing. The first manned flight [with Boeing capsules], however, isn’t expected until at least August. An “uncrewed” test is supposed to [happen] in April.

“Following the test flights, NASA will review performance data and resolve any necessary issues to certify the systems for operational missions,” the agency said. “As with all human spaceflight vehicle development, learning from each test and adjusting as necessary to reduce risk to the crew may override planning dates.”

 

 

Article Source : https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/daily-news-article/us-astronauts-heading-back-to-space-on-american-rockets-in-july-nasa/

Image source : https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/SpaceX_Crew-Dragon-820x573.jpg

 

VOCABULARY WORDS:

 

1. astronaut / noun : a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight.

2. shutter / verb : to close (a store or business operations) for the day or permanently.

3. access / noun : the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use; admittance:

4. certify / verb : to attest as certain; give reliable information of; confirm:

5. reduce / verb : to bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.:

 

 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

 

1. The first paragraph of a news article should answer the questions who, what, where and when. List the who, what, where and when of this news item. (NOTE: The remainder of a news article provides details on the why and/or how.)

 

2. 

a) When will NASA launch its first test flight from the U.S.?
b) When will the first manned flight take place?

3. Why haven’t U.S. astronauts traveled to space from the U.S. since 2011?

4. Which two U.S. companies have been chosen to build the space capsules NASA will be using?

5. What factors could change scheduled dates?