Nasa To Launch Crew Dragon Spacecraft
The US space agency NASA is set to launch the first privately developed spacecraft, Crew Dragon.
The craft is scheduled to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at around 7:30 p.m. US Eastern Time on Sunday.
This will be the first operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule, developed by the US firm SpaceX.
Japanese astronaut Noguchi Soichi is among the four-member crew headed to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission.
NASA is expected to commission the spacecraft to regularly shuttle astronauts to and from the space station.
The capsule is scheduled to dock with the space station on Monday.
Noguchi and his crewmates have named their spacecraft "Resilience" in order to give hope to people overcoming hardships from the coronavirus pandemic.
The planned launch is drawing attention as it marks the start of a new era for the commercial space industry. NASA is also planning to use the spacecraft for civilian purposes.
The originally scheduled launch on October 31 was postponed because of an engine problem, and then again rescheduled due to poor weather.
