California · SpaceX · Ars Technica
A most improbable astronaut just went to space
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Anil Menon, a NASA flight surgeon, felt crushed nine years ago as his hopes and aspirations collapsed around him.
Key facts
- Then, in May 2020, SpaceX and NASA launched the Demo-2 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida amid the height of the pandemic
- SpaceX also built 4,000 solenoids for Medtronic ventilators, and volunteers manufactured 55,000 masks for Los Angeles-area emergency departments
- In early 2020, the workload for Demo-2 was approaching its most crucial phase as NASA sought final paperwork and other tests to ensure the readiness of Dragon to safely fly astronauts into space
- Six years later, Menon still remembers the company-wide email sent by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
For the fourth time, he had diligently applied to become an astronaut at the US space agency, seeking to fulfill a lifelong dream. “I was so sad, and I admitted defeat,” Menon said. He was 39 years old. His life was not without adventure up to that point—far from it.