© 2024 South Carolina Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

As NASA Prepares for Historic SpaceX Launch, A Look at How an SC Native, Clemson Grad Plays a Role

On Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, SpaceX teams, the company's Mission and NASA flight controllers executed full simulation of launch and docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley (front).
Photo credit: SpaceX
On Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, SpaceX teams, the company's Mission and NASA flight controllers executed full simulation of launch and docking of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley (front).

For the first time in nine years, astronauts will launch into space from American soil. Wednesday’s planned test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon will send two astronauts, Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the International Space Station.

In 2018, South Carolina Public Radio talked with Conway native, Clemson Graduate and newly-appointed Deputy Director of NASA Johnson Space Center Vanessa Wyche. She shared how the agency was working towards this pivotal moment and how it relates to the future of space exploration.

The scheduled flight is being called a new era in human spaceflight. NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is targeted for 4:33 p.m. EDT. Full mission coverage will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.