SpaceX Falcon 9 & Dragon Certified for Human Spaceflight by NASA

SpaceX, in collaboration with NASA, has successfully finished the extensive, years-long certification process for its Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft launch system. This marks the first instance of a commercially-built space system being certified for human spaceflight. The culmination of this certification was the Demo-2 mission, launched by SpaceX earlier in the year, which transported NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on May 30, 2020. A thorough evaluation of the outcomes from this triumphant mission has now been finalized.

NASA communicated this achievement through an official blog post, highlighting that the certification encompassed a Flight Readiness Review in anticipation of the inaugural official crew mission to the ISS utilizing the Falcon 9 and Dragon. This mission is currently scheduled for this Saturday, November 14, contingent on favorable weather conditions. The flight will transport a team of four astronauts – three from NASA and one representing Japan’s space agency – to the ISS for a standard-duration stay dedicated to scientific experimentation and station upkeep.

This achievement represents the concluding phase of a comprehensive, multi-mission certification program. Previous missions included an unmanned docking with the ISS, which operated under complete automated control, and a launch pad abort test designed to validate the functionality of the launch vehicle’s safety mechanisms in the improbable scenario of an incident occurring after liftoff but before orbital insertion. Furthermore, SpaceX engineered and rigorously tested an advanced parachute system to govern the Dragon crew capsule’s descent during its return to Earth.

According to NASA, a “detailed assessment of the test flight data” was conducted following the Demo-2 mission, which concluded in August with the safe return of Behnken and Hurley from the space station.