SpaceX smashes records with the first ever human rocket launch since the Space Shuttle
By: Jim Mallari
Tags: Science, Space Travel, NASA, Space, Spacex

NASA, together with SpaceX launched astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. Since 2011. According to NASA, this mission marks the beginning of a new era for human space flight.

SpaceX’s two-stage Falcon 9 rocket with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard blasted off on Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Pad 39A at 3:22 p.m. Eastern Time.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said: “What a great day for NASA, what a great day for SpaceX, and what a great day for the United States of America. It’s been nine years since we’ve launched American astronauts on American rockets from American soil, and now we have done it again.”

The SpaceX Demo-2 launch was the first to occur on American astronauts from US soil since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011. This launch is also the first crewed flight ever by a private company.

SpaceX chief engineer Elon Musk stated: “I’d like to just acknowledge the incredible work of the people at SpaceX and NASA and everyone who created this technology — what has culminated in this incredible launch today, getting astronauts back to orbit after almost a decade.”

“It’s been 18 years working towards this goal. This is hopefully the first step on a journey towards civilization on Mars,” Musk said.

“We’re not celebrating yet,” Bridenstine admonished. “We will celebrate when they’re home safely.”

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is launched from Launch Complex 39A on NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: Bill Ingalls

The mission, called “Demo-2”, is the final test flight before NASA certifies SpaceX’s capsule for regular crewed missions.

The astronauts Robert Behnken, 49, and Douglas Hurley, 53, former military test pilots who joined NASA in 2000, reached the International Space Station at 10:20 pm Eastern Time on Sunday. They will join US astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner embarked on the ISS for up to four months.

The reusable first booster stage of the Falcon 9 rocket separated flawlessly about 2.5 minutes after lift-off and landed on a drone ship off the Atlantic coast. The second stage also separated cleanly.

The launch had originally been scheduled for Wednesday but was called off because of the wild weather, which also remained uncertain on Saturday right until lift-off.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

The Crew Dragon mission is a defining moment for SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002 with the goal of producing a lower-cost alternative to human space flight.

The US space agency paid more than $3 billion for SpaceX to design, build, test and operate its reusable Dragon capsule for future space trips. NASA has had to pay Russia for the Soyuz rockets to take the astronauts to space ever since the shuttle program ended.

SpaceX conducted a successful test flight of Crew Dragon to the ISS in March of 2019. The project has experienced failures — but even so, SpaceX has beaten its giant competitor Boeing to the punch.