A new era of human spaceflight began May 30 when NASA astronauts blasted off for a mission to the International Space Station. American astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley flew on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifting off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A in Florida.
The historic launch was the first manned space launch from U.S. soil since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
This mission will validate the SpaceX crew transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, and operational capabilities. This also will be the first time NASA astronauts will test the spacecraft systems in orbit.