NASA, SpaceX Still Target January For Crewed Test Flight Written 10 December 2018
Space News reported that although a planned SpaceX commercial crew test flight “might not launch on a date in early January previously announced [by] NASA, both agency and company officials are optimistic the mission will still fly later in the month.” NASA announced in November that the flight was targeted for January 7, but NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also “cautioned that the launch date had yet to be finalized.” Both NASA and SpaceX officials “have said in recent days they remain optimistic that the mission can launch in January, although likely later than the Jan. 7 date announced in November.” SpaceX Vice President of Build and Flight Reliability Hans Koenigsmann said during a December 3 briefing, “What I could see is a couple days [delay] because of traffic” of visiting vehicles at the ISS. He added, “Our target is, at this point in time, mid-January, and we’re pushing as hard and as diligently as we can for this particular launch.” NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Bill Gerstenmaier “said Dec. 6 he’s also expecting the Demo-1 mission to take place in January, although near the end of the month rather than the beginning.”
More Info (Space News)
More Info (Space News)