Astronaut about to escape from Earth into space: “Good luck to everyone”

Enlarge / At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 63 crewmembers Chris Cassidy of NASA (left) and Anatoly Ivanishin (center) and Ivan Vagner (right) of Roscosmos pose for pictures March 11. (credit: NASA)

While much of the world's business has ground to a halt amid the COVID-19 pandemic, spaceflight has been moving along in fits and starts. Most spaceports remain active, and in the United States, launch companies have been classified as "essential" businesses, meaning they are continuing operations, at least to some extent.

And at NASA, they're still flying to the International Space Station. Much of the space agency, including Johnson Space Center, is presently at Stage 3 of NASA's pandemic response plan. This phase lies just short of Stage 4, during which facilities are shuttered except to protect life and critical infrastructure. It seems likely that more of the space agency will move to Stage 4 this week, but NASA will continue to operate the station regardless.

"The teams responsible for supporting the International Space Station from Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center are considered mission-essential personnel and will continue their duties should we move to Stage 4 of the COVID-19 NASA Response Framework," a NASA spokesman said.

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