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.
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.
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After the success of this mission, Nasa will certify SpaceX to fly working missions for the space station.
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The launch comes 18 years after Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp with the ultimate goal of populating other planets.
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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.
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For Elon Musk, the launch represents another milestone for the reusable rockets in his quest to make spaceflight less costly and more frequent.
