facebook
News SpaceX Successfully Launches Astronauts In The First-Ever Private Space Craft
Advertisement

SpaceX Successfully Launches Astronauts In The First-Ever Private Space Craft

Two NASA astronauts journeyed to ISS in Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, making SpaceX the first private company to launch human beings to space.

Advertisement

By: Bayar Jain Published: Jun 01, 2020 02:07 PM IST

SpaceX Successfully Launches Astronauts In The First-Ever Private Space Craft
Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock
Editor’s note: The global COVID-19 crisis has left each one of us deeply affected and we want to help. Burda Media India has organised a fundraising campaign to #FightBackWithTesting and donating RT-PCR test kits to the worst-affected areas in India, which will be secured from our testing partner Mylab Discovery Solutions. You can help these kits reach many more by donating for the cause or by adopting a kit. Click here to join the fight.

On May 31, while Planet Earth trudged along in its own share of chaos, two NASA astronauts journeyed to the International Space Station (ISS) in Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, making Musk’s SpaceX the first private company to launch human beings to the mysterious intergalactic skies. By Bayar Jain

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SpaceX (@spacex) on

While space tourism continues to be constricted to a select few, a special mission on May 31 could have set the ball rolling for bringing these fantasies to fruition in the future, all thanks to genius engineer and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. His company, SpaceX successfully launched two NASA astronauts, Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to ISS – making it the first private company to achieve this mammoth feat. Moreover, this mission also marks the first instance of American astronauts heading to the orbit since July 8, 2011 – a mission in which Hurley was present as well. That’s not all! The last time NASA launched astronauts in a new vehicle was 40 years ago.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SpaceX (@spacex) on

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft took off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after being postponed 16 minutes and 53 seconds before its earlier scheduled date of May 27 due to bad weather caused by the tropical storm Bertha. This particular launchpad is the same one which was used to carry the first humans to the moon.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SpaceX (@spacex) on

The two astronauts aboard the ship will orbit our planet for 19 hours, occasionally manoeuvring the spacecraft manually so they can share their experience with future space travellers. Once they dock at the space station, the two will collectively conduct tests and research. The mission is expected to last for 30 to 90 days, following which Behnken and Hurley will board the Crew Dragon to depart from the ISS. It is then expected to make its landing in the Atlantic Ocean, following which it will be recovered by the Go Navigator Recovery Vessel.

This mission is a humongous step in the field of sustainable space exploration. The launch represents and resonates with Musk’s vision of making spaceflights more feasible and frequent by using reusable rockets.

Related:#SomeGoodNews: SpaceX Successfully Launches 60 Starlink Satellites Amid Pandemic

Written By

Bayar Jain

Bayar Jain

Senior Content Manager

Equipped with a degree in Sociology (Honours) from the University of Delhi and a postgraduate diploma in English Journalism and Mass Communication from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai, Bayar enjoys sharing stories of people, places, and different cultures. When not typing her travel tales, you can catch the hobbyist photographer capturing ..Read More

Never miss an update

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest on travel, stay & dining.

No Thanks
You’re all set

Thank you for your subscription.