SpaceX and NASA have already worked together to launch several space missions, including Crew Dragon which should return by August 2nd.
It looks like there is already more on the agenda. As reported by CNN, NASA has successfully chosen four astronauts that will be part of a SpaceX mission next year. Akihido Hoshide, Thomas Pesquet, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will all be part of Crew-2. This mission will take place in spring of 2021.
NASA stated that bringing more people onto the International Space Station will “effectively double the amount of science that can be conducted in space”.
This crew has all been part of previous ISS missions, coming from diverse backgrounds that involve countries from around the world. Hoshide is representing JAXA from Japan, with Pesquet from the European Space Agency. Both Kimbrough and McArthur are going on behalf of NASA. McArthur is married to Robert Behnken, who had flown out Doug Hurley to the ISS as part of Crew Dragon.
If that mission goes as planned then SpaceX will bring Crew-1 to the International Space Station (ISS) in a Crew Dragon capsule by September. This will be the company’s first fully operational ISS mission.
While we don’t know much else about the Crew-2 launch, we can expect to receive more details in the future.
