Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, made history on Saturday when its Crew Dragon capsule safely reached space carrying two NASA astronauts. It was the first time a private company had put a human into orbit.
On Sunday, Crew Dragon went on to successfully dock with the International Space Station (ISS), which the astronauts are now safely aboard.
The historic launch marks the first time NASA astronauts have blasted off from American soil since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011.
Appropriately, that final flight of space shuttle Atlantis was piloted by astronaut Douglas Hurley, who commanded Saturday’s Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. He was accompanied by fellow astronaut Robert Behnken. Together, the two will now spend a yet-to-be-determined amount of time onboard the International Space Station.
