5 reasons that make SpaceX-Nasa crew dragon launch historic
For many spectators who filled parks, beaches and roads along Florida's Space Coast, the launch of two astronauts into orbit Saturday was a welcome accomplishment and a reprieve from the coronavirus pandemic, economic worries and now unrest in the streets.
For many spectators who filled parks, beaches and roads along Florida's Space Coast, the launch of two astronauts into orbit Saturday was a welcome accomplishment and a reprieve from the coronavirus pandemic, economic worries and now unrest in the streets.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket thundered away from Earth with two Americans on Saturday, ushering in a new era of commercial space travel and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.
Here is why SpaceX-Nasa crew dragon launch was historic
- With this launch, SpaceX became the first private company to launch people into orbit, a feat achieved previously by only three governments: the US, Russia and China.
-
After the success of this mission, Nasa will certify SpaceX to fly working missions for the space station.
-
The launch comes 18 years after Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp with the ultimate goal of populating other planets.
-
The launch ends NASA's 9-year long drought. NASA has relied on Russian spaceships launched from Kazakhstan to take US astronauts to and from the space station since 2011.
-
For Elon Musk, the launch represents another milestone for the reusable rockets in his quest to make spaceflight less costly and more frequent.