Fun fact: Crew-1 is J.A.X.A. astronaut Soichi Noguchi's third spaceflight. He is only the third astronaut to fly into space aboard three different types of vehicle: the Space Shuttle, Soyuz, & Crew Dragon. The other two are legends: Wally Schirra of the Mercury Seven (1959, Astronaut Group 1), aboard the Mercury, Gemini, & Apollo capsules; & John Young of the New Nine (1962, Astronaut Group 2), aboard the Gemini & Apollo capsules & the Space Shuttle. (Young also flew a fourth type of vehicle, the Lunar Module, but he didn't launch into space aboard that craft.)
The exciting part of Crew-1 is how quickly all of this should become routine & relatively unexciting. The upcoming schedule is for Crew-2, the second flight of the Crew Dragon Endeavour, to fly in March 2021, & then Crew-3, the second flight of the Crew Dragon Resilience or the first flight of a different Crew Dragon, in September 2021. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule is scheduled for the unmanned Orbital Test Flight 2 in early 2021, followed by—if all goes well—the Crewed Flight Test in July 2021 & then the "operational" Starliner-1 flight at the end of 2021. The Space Shuttle (1981-2011) was the spacecraft of my youth, a legend in its own time, & I accordingly took it for granted. The I.S.S. is a creation of the Space Shuttle & I have also taken it for granted. I never knew how good I had it until the Shuttle was retired in 2011 & it took nine long years for these United States to regain the ability to launch astronauts into Low Earth Orbit (L.E.O.) & return them safely to terra firma. I rarely thought about the work being done on the I.S.S. 'til this month's twentieth anniversary of contiuous habitation: There has not been a single day since 2 November 2000 when astronauts & cosmonauts have not been on the I.S.S. Wow! The Space Shuttle was a magnificent machine, but it was far too dangerous & far too expensive a spacecraft simply to shuttle astronauts & cosmosnauts to & from the International Space Station. SpaceX's Crew Dragon &, eventually, Boeing's Starliner capsules give N.A.S.A. a capability much more akin to Russia's no-frills Soyuz capsule: a safe & relatively inexpensive way to shuttle astronauts to & from L.E.O. Space nerds thrilled to Demo-2 & are paying rapt attention to Crew-1, but all too soon, as if on cue, we will start to take this for granted to & lose track of which flight it is that is currently aloft, just as it is perplexing to remember which Expedition is currently on the I.S.S.
Meanwhile, with the Orion capsule, N.A.S.A. will again venture into deep space, the Artemis program aiming to return astronauts to the Moon to build up a space economy & to develop the techniques & test the hardware for a crewed mission to Mars. (I hold out hope they will make the logical choice & call that program Ares.) Good times could well be here again, if we do not lose our nerve.
First, the Resilience. The virtue of the name Resilience is that it is unique. The Endeavour was the third American spacecraft by that name, after the Apollo 15 Command Module & the fifth Space Shuttle, leading to potential confusion & the need to make distinctions; the Resilience is the only Resilience. The vice of the name Resilience is that, being unique, it has no heroic pedigree. The Crew Dragon Endeavour harkened back to the Space Shuttle on which both Hurley & Behnken flew & to the Apollo triumph, as well as to Captain Cook's famous H.M.S. Endeavour; the Resilience is the only Resilience. Also, the name Resilience is too much like the recently launched Mars 2020 rover Perseverence. Yes, resilience & perseverence are distinct qualities & both are laudable qualities, but both Resilience & Perseverence are very 2020 names. I mean, they do not have as timeless a character as, for example, Discovery & Curiosity. All that said, I wish Hopkins, Glover, Noguchi, & Walker—the first crew of the Resilience—a safe & successful voyage, & for the Resilience to have a long & flawless career.
Second, the Endeavour. It has been announced that when Crew Dragon C206 conducts Crew-2, she will still be the Endeavour. Apparently, there was some question of whether each crew would get to name their own spacecraft, even if it was not making its maiden flight. I'm glad that silly notion has been dismissed. Godspeed to the Endeavour & to the Resilience, & to all the brave souls they carry!
Bonus! Song o' the Resilience
Goldfinger, "Liftoff" from The Knife (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)
The Wayback Machine Tour of "Launch America"
Demo-2 Launch
Demo-2 Splashdown
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