The launch of the billionaire’s vessel will be the first manned US flight since shuttle missions were shut down nine years ago
When American astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley arrive at the International Space Station this week, they will find an unusual message waiting for them. On the inside of the hatch where their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock, a small stars and stripes flag has been sealed in a plastic bag with a cryptic message attached. “Flown on STS-1 and STS-135. Only to be removed by a crew launched from KSC.”
It sounds enigmatic but the meaning is straightforward. The flag, which measures 8 inches by 12 inches, was flown on board the first space shuttle mission (STS-1) in 1981. And it was carried aloft in 2011 when the shuttle Atlantis rendezvoused with the space station on the last shuttle mission (STS-135). KSC simply stands for the Kennedy Space Centre.
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