Astronauts who will launch into space later this month have started to quarantine themselves, NASA says
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - SpaceX has scrubbed Wednesday afternoon's manned launch after unfavorable weather conditions continued throughout the entire day.
SpaceX will try again on Saturday at 3:22 p.m. EDT.
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(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The astronauts that will launch into space at the end of the month have started to quarantine themselves away from people, helping ensure that they will stay healthy for their upcoming mission.
SpaceX and NASA are expected to launch the first astronauts from American soil in nearly a decade on May 27 from Kennedy Space Center’s launch complex 39A. According to Spaceflight Now, this will be the first crewed mission into orbit from the U.S. since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
They reported that NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, two veterans of the shuttle program, will ride SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Wednesday, Jim Bridenstine of NASA tweeted that Hurley and Behnken have started to their pre-flight quarantine.
While people all over the world are quarantining because of coronavirus, this is actually a routine part of the final weeks before liftoff for all missions to the space station, NASA said. It is called "flight crew health stabilization" and allows the astronauts to protect themselves and arrive at their mission healthy.
Hurley and Behnken are currently training side-by-side and will live as a team on the space station with their crewmates. They will not be able to maintain six-feet of distance up there, so NASA's quarantine rules will help protect the entire crew.
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Liftoff time is expected to be around 4:32 p.m. EDT. on May 27.
When the launch happens, you'll be able to watch it live on FOX 35 Orlando.
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