spacetoday.net: NASA approves plans for SpaceX commercial crew test flight

Posted: Sat, Feb 23, 2019, 5:30 PM ET (2230 GMT)
SpaceX Crew Dragon launch illustration (SpaceX)

NASA and SpaceX completed a flight readiness review Friday that allows the company to move ahead with an upcoming uncrewed test of its commercial crew vehicle. That test flight, known as Demo-1, is scheduled for March 2 at 2:48 am EST (0748 GMT) from Kennedy Space Center. If the spacecraft launches at that time, it will dock with the station one day later for a five-day stay. The mission will test out the vehicle ahead of a crewed test flight carrying two NASA astronauts planned for this summer. NASA officials said there is still one open issue, regarding the spacecraft's flight software, that has to be resolved before the launch can proceed, and there are a number of other technical issues with the spacecraft that will be closely watched on the flight.