Press Release

Space Subcommittee Chair Horn Congratulates SpaceX and NASA on Successful Crew Dragon Demo-1 Mission

By SpaceRef Editor
March 11, 2019
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On Feb. 28, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew Dragon capsule for its Demo-1 flight test. The capsule carried about 400 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station and a dummy named Ripley, which was fitted with sensors to record what astronauts can expect to experience throughout their mission. Three days after the launch, the spacecraft docked autonomously to the International Space Station. After detaching early Friday morning, the capsule successfully dropped into in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the first commercially built and operated American rocket and spacecraft designed for humans to launch to the ISS.


Chair of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Rep. Kendra Horn (OK-05), made the following statement.

“I’d like to congratulate SpaceX and NASA on successfully carrying out this critical, uncrewed test flight. Falcon 9 and the Crew Dragon’s success brought us one step closer to again having the ability to launch humans from American soil. It strengthened NASA’s growing experience with public-private partnerships. It is vital that as a nation we provide the safest and most reliable transportation for our astronauts. The flight also demonstrated the collaboration between NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the International Space Station team, and SpaceX’s launch team. The events of the past week would not have been possible without that teamwork. I look forward to following the progress toward the crewed demonstration flight, and the eventual re-launch of our astronauts from the U.S.”

SpaceRef staff editor.