NASA Astronauts Making Historic SpaceX Journey

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley (left) and Robert Behnken (right) participate in a dress rehearsal for launch at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Date: 5/23/20. Photo via: NASA / Kim Shiflett / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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CAPE CANAVERAL – The countdown is on for SpaceX Crew Dragon to take to the stars.

It’s the first ever crewed mission for SpaceX and the first from U.S. soil to enter Earth’s orbit


Since NASA retired the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. The two astronauts at the helm, Colonels Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.

“We longed to be a part of a space mission, a test space flight, and Doug and I are lucky enough to get that opportunity,” said Astronaut Col. Behnken.

NASA partnered with Elon Musk’s privately-owned company to build and design the spacecraft.



If the mission is successful, this will be the first commercially built aircraft to carry Americans to the International Space Station.

While the excitement is brewing for the big day, the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact looms.

“COVID did drive some changes in how we conducted our operations in preparing for this mission,” explained Behnken.

The Kennedy space center is closed to visitors, so NASA is encouraging people to watch the launch from home.



Even with the impact of COVID-19, this space team is determined to launch themselves into history books.

 

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