SpaceX Crew-1 Astronauts give a special name to the next Crew Dragon that will take flight

Featured Image Source: SpaceX 

SpaceX will launch its second crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on October 31. The Crew-1 mission will launch three NASA astronauts and one Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut. With NASA are: Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins, joint-commander Pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Shannon Walker, along with JAXA Soichi Noguchi who will also be a mission specialist. They will ride aboard SpaceX's upgraded Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled to take off on Halloween at 2:40 a.m. EDT. from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Crew-1 will officially be the first operational mission launched from American soil that features an International crew. They are expected to stay at the orbiting laboratory for six months. 

The astronauts have been training for years to conduct this vital mission. This week, SpaceX announced: "Training of astronauts that will fly on board Dragon’s first operational mission is complete! When the crew arrives for pre-launch preparations at the launch site, they will participate in a run-through of day-of-launch activities with the launch and pad operations teams."

SpaceX training of astronauts that will fly on board Dragon’s first operational mission is complete! When the crew arrives for pre-launch preparations at the launch site, they will participate in a run-through of day-of-launch activities with the launch and pad operations teams pic.twitter.com/dmIYpVDIF1

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2020

During a press conference that took place on Tuesday, September 29, NASA and SpaceX representatives discussed the upcoming crewed flight. The astronauts revealed they gave a special name to the Crew Dragon spacecraft that will ferry them to the space station. "We're excited about the opportunity to name our vehicle. The Crew-1 Dragon capsule, no. 207, will henceforth be known by the call sign 'Resilience'," the commander of the Crew-1 mission Astronaut Hopkins shared.

Hopkins explained that the spacecraft's name was chosen to reflect all the challenges that the year 2020 has put forth to the world amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.  --"If you look up the definition of the word 'resilience,' it means functioning well in times of stress or overcoming adverse events. I think all of us can agree that 2020 has certainly been a challenging year, [with] a global pandemic, economic hardships, social unrest [and] isolation," he said. "Despite all of that, SpaceX and NASA have kept the production line open and finished this amazing vehicle that is getting ready to go on its maiden flight to the International Space Station."

"So the name 'Resilience' is really in honor of the SpaceX and NASA teams, and, quite frankly, it is in honor of our families, our colleagues, our fellow citizens, our international partners and our leaders, who have shown that same quality, those same characteristics all through these difficult times," Hopkins added.

JAXA Astronaut Nouguchi took to Twitter and expressed what the spacecraft's name means to him. "NASA SpaceX Crew-1 is destined to fly, in the name of resilience. All for 1, 1 for all. The name of our spacecraft is Resilience. With the power to recover, the willingness to repel predicament, and the prayer for resurrection, we will continue to challenge with this spaceship," JAXA astronaut Sochi wrote in Japanese via Twitter.

#NASA #SpaceX #crew1 is destined to fly, in the name of #resilience. All for 1, 1 for all. 　我々の宇宙船の名前はレジリエンス。立ち直る力、苦境を跳ね返す意欲、復活への祈りを込めて、この宇宙船で挑戦を続けます。 pic.twitter.com/fQh5z9QqfK

— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口　聡－（のぐち　そういち） (@Astro_Soichi) September 30, 2020