Historic Day for Manned Space Travel

Demo-2 Launch of the Crew Dragon Spacecraft

Although we are all living through a moment in history because of COVID-19, today is a historical day for a more positive note. Today SpaceX will be launching it's Crew Dragon Spacecraft with live astronauts bound for the ISS (International Space Station) for the first time. The successful flight of Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will mark the return of human spaceflight to the United States.

A Landmark Mission

Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, no manned missions to space have been launched on U.S. soil in nearly a decade. Americans onboard the ISS have been transported to and from the ISS by purchasing seats aboard Russian Soyuz rockets. Returning the U.S. space program to U.S. soil is not the only landmark event this launch represents however. It will also be the first time people will be sent to space by a private company. SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk, the creator of Paypal and founder of Tesla. Not only will SpaceX be providing the rocket and spacecraft, they will also be managing the entire mission from launch to splashdown.

SpaceX has revolutionized space travel by developing one of the first working reusable booster launch systems. The Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket boosters return to earth after stage 1 separation and land vertically for reuse. All previous launch systems had single use boosters, making rocket launches staggeringly expensive. This innovation will mark the beginning of the privatization of manned space travel at an extremely affordable cost compared to previous methods.

When & Where

Weather permitting, Demo-2 launch will occur on Wednesday 5/27/2020 at approximately 4:30 pm EDT at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida from Launch Complex 39A, the same platform that sent the first Astronauts to the Moon. Live coverage will begin 4 hours before launch with the fueling of the rockets.

Mission Site: https://www.spacex.com/launches/

Check out the links and videos included for some of the milestones met by SpaceX, including the first Falcon Heavy launch where Elon Musk sent his personal Tesla into orbit to the tune of Rocket Man.

Animation of today's flight:

Falcon Heavy Launch:

I'll see you at the launch.