After nearly two decades of effort, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, successfully launched its first two people into orbit, ushering in a new age of human spaceflight in the United States.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully landed on one of the company’s drone ships following takeoff, making for a smooth launch throughout.
It’s also the final major test for SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
After six years of development and testing on the Crew Dragon, SpaceX pulled ahead in the race to launch humans first.
“They’re laying the foundation for a new era in human spaceflight,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said before launch.
“It’s an era in human spaceflight where more space is going to be available to more people than ever before.”.
After splashdown, a SpaceX recovery boat will greet the crew and take them and their capsule back to shore. »