KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are now staying at the Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, ahead of their historic launch to the International Space Station.
What You Need To Know
- The Astronaut Crew Quarters have been upgraded
- New carpet, paint and kitchen appliances to name a few
- The quarters have 23 bedrooms in it
Late last year, before the pandemic, Spectrum News got special access to the 26,000-square-foot crew quarters, inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout.
This is where astronauts stay in quarantine while they wait for launch.
Since the last launch was nine years ago, some upgrades were made to the crew quarters.
The iconic suit room, where the astronauts are helped into their pressurized suits, has been remodeled. It's here where Behnken and Hurley will get ready for their first mission on SpaceX’s capsule, Crew Dragon.
“We've tried to update as much as we can with the budget we have,” said NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who gave Spectrum News a tour of the quarters.
There is new carpet and paint as well, along with kitchen appliances.
“We have a great TV for them here to watch movies or stream whatever they want to watch up there as well in their free time,” said Kimbrough.
Inside the conference room, astronauts can get updates on their mission.
“If they need some last minute training, we used to have the instructors come in here and train here as well,” said Kimbrough. “The quarantine situation is a little bit stricter now, so they're going to have to video conference the instructors in, but we have capabilities to do all that.”
They can also video chat with their family.
Upgrades have been made to the 23 bedrooms as well. But some things haven't changed. There’s still a large collection of DVDs that film companies would send during the shuttle era.
Kimbrough says it's important to keep the astronauts comfortable the days leading up to their launch.
“A lot of our astronauts play guitar or are musicians as well, so they'll come in here and hang out and play some tunes,” he said. “And the folks who've played it, my colleagues will sign it there. Just something to relieve the stress or just chill out with their crewmates.”
Astronauts aren’t confined to the crew quarters during their quarantine.
They can also go, along with their families who’ve followed quarantine guidelines, to the NASA beach house, located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.