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NASA: SpaceX will be first to launch astronauts from America since 2011

SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry the astronauts into space

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for Demo-2 arrived at the launch site on Feb. 13, 2020. (SpaceX, SpaceX)

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – SpaceX will be the first company since 2011 to launch American astronauts into space from American soil, NASA announced in a blog post on Friday.

Both SpaceX and Boeing were developing spacecraft to end the gap in human spaceflight as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, but the administration decided a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will carry the astronauts, WKMG reported.

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“The SpaceX Crew Dragon will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from historic Launch Complex 39A from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center,” NASA said in a media release.

The spacecraft will undergo final testing and prelaunch processing in a SpaceX facility on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

A launch date has not been announced.


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