SpaceX launches new crew of astronauts for NASA
16 November 2020
NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Japan's Soichi Noguchi are on their way to the International Space Station.
Why it matters: The crewed launch marks the second time SpaceX has launched people to orbit for NASA and the mission is expected to be the first of many regular flights like this to the space station.
Details: The Falcon 9 carrying the four crewmembers took flight at 7:27 p.m. ET and the Crew Dragon capsule is expected to dock with the space station Monday night.
- During their flight to the station, Hopkins, Walker, Glover and Noguchi are planning on testing out what kind of choreography is needed to make sure that everyone is comfortable during their trip to the station.
- When astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley flew on the Crew Dragon for SpaceX's first crewed flight, there was plenty of room in the capsule because only two of them were flying, this time around, space will be at a premium.
- The four crewmembers will stay onboard the space station for about 6 months before heading back home.
Between the lines: All four of the astronauts were in quarantine ahead of launch to ensure they did not catch COVID-19 or another infection before heading up to the station.
The big picture: The Crew Dragon is the first American-made spacecraft able to bring astronauts to orbit since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011.
- Until this summer's crewed SpaceX launch, NASA was solely reliant on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to bring their people to and from the space station.
- Boeing is also working to develop its own crewed capsule, called the Starliner, that is expected to fly its first crewed mission in the next year or so.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.