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NASA Astronauts Test SpaceX Spacesuits for Crew Dragon Launch

Will SpaceX be able to launch its Crew Dragon capsule in November?
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NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley got to test out their hot new spacesuits for launch day of the long-awaited SpaceX Crew Dragon test flight.
Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann

SpaceX Apparel

Last week, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley got a chance to test out the sleek new outfits they’ll be wearing on launch day of SpaceX’s long-awaited Crew Dragon test flight — Demo-2 — to the International Space Station.

The astronauts ran through “all of the activities, procedures and communication that will be exercised on launch day when a Crew Dragon spacecraft launches on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A in Florida,” according to a NASA statement.

The ground team even simulated a launch countdown with the astronauts inside SpaceX’s specially-designed Crew Dragon simulator.

3, 2, 1…

SpaceX and NASA have yet to set a date for launch. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule exploded during an engine test in April, delaying the launch date significantly. The latest estimates suggest that Demo-2 could take place in November.

The most recent version of SpaceX’s spacesuits, first revealed in 2017, aren’t meant to allow astronauts to survive in the harsh environment of space. Instead, they’re safety backups in case of sudden spacecraft depressurization.

READ MORE: SpaceX’s first Crew Dragon NASA astronauts suit up for spacesuit-focused launch rehearsal [Teslarati]

More on the suits: NASA Astronauts Put SpaceX Spacesuits to the Test

I’m a senior editor at Futurism, where I edit and write about NASA and the private space sector, as well as topics ranging from SETI and artificial intelligence to tech and medical policy.