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SpaceX’s first crewed launch: all the updates on the company’s historic mission for NASA

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After more than six years of intense development, SpaceX is set to launch its first people to space on the company’s newly developed Crew Dragon capsule. It’s a major flight test for SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, an initiative to have private companies — not the government — create new vehicles that can carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s first two passengers are veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. The duo is set to take off inside SpaceX’s capsule from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, May 30th, at 3:22PM ET. When they do, it’ll mark the first time since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 that US astronauts have flown to orbit from American soil. It will also be the first time that a privately made vehicle carries people to orbit.

Follow along as The Verge covers all of the updates from this historic flight.

  • Loren Grush

    Jun 2, 2020

    Loren Grush

    What the future of the space station looks like after SpaceX’s historic launch

    With the success of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launch this weekend, NASA now has the capability to launch its own astronauts from the US once again — and that means changes are in store for the future of the International Space Station. Soon, a new suite of vehicles could be regularly flying people to the station from the Florida coast, along with the Russian Soyuz rocket that has been solely responsible for taking humans to the outpost since 2011.

    This will be a new era of human spaceflight where private vehicles and state-operated vehicles fly along aside one another, getting humans into space, and to the ISS. Here’s how traffic to the space station will evolve as SpaceX and NASA’s other commercial partner, Boeing, start sending people to and from the ISS on a regular basis.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 31, 2020

    Loren Grush

    SpaceX’s Crew Dragon successfully docks with the space station

    Crew Dragon Endeavour approaches the ISS.
    Crew Dragon Endeavour approaches the ISS.
    Image: NASA / SpaceX

    This morning, SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station, bringing the company’s first crew to the orbiting outpost. Their arrival marks another major milestone for SpaceX’s first crewed mission of the Crew Dragon, which successfully took off yesterday, May 30th, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

    Now, the Crew Dragon’s passengers — NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — are set to begin an extended stay on board the ISS that could last up to four months. They will join three crew mates already living on board the station: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 31, 2020

    Loren Grush

    How to watch SpaceX’s first crew dock with the International Space Station

    On Saturday afternoon, SpaceX launched its first human crew to space for NASA on the company’s new Crew Dragon spacecraft — but the mission isn’t over yet. After spending nearly a full day in orbit, the two passengers on board SpaceX’s vehicle, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, will attempt to dock with the International Space Station this morning.

    SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has an automatic docking system, which uses a series of sensors and cameras to help the vehicle approach the ISS and then grab on to an existing docking port. The Crew Dragon successfully tested out this technique last year when SpaceX launched a test version of the vehicle to the ISS without crew on board. But this time, the Crew Dragon will carry very precious cargo.

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  • Sean O'Kane

    May 30, 2020

    Sean O'Kane

    Watch NASA astronauts fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon using touchscreens

    Nearly two hours after NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley became the first astronauts launched to space on a privately-owned rocket, they also became the first to pilot a spaceship using only touchscreen controls.

    SpaceX’s Crew Dragon eschews the famous maze of manual controls and switches found on retired spacecraft like the Space Shuttle or the Apollo command modules. Instead, Crew Dragon pilots have just three large touchscreen panels in front of them and a few spare buttons below. So during the few times that they have to manually control the spacecraft, they do so using a video game-style interface on those screens.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 30, 2020

    Loren Grush

    SpaceX successfully launches first crew to orbit, ushering in new era of spaceflight

    After nearly two decades of effort, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, successfully launched its first two people into orbit, ushering in a new age of human spaceflight in the United States. The flight marked the first time astronauts have launched into orbit from American soil in nearly a decade, and SpaceX is now the first company to send passengers to orbit on a privately made vehicle.

    The two astronauts — veteran NASA fliers Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — rode into space inside SpaceX’s new automated spacecraft called the Crew Dragon, a capsule designed to take people to and from the International Space Station. Strapped inside the sleek, gumdrop-shaped capsule, the duo lifted off on top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:22PM ET on Saturday. The rocket dropped the Crew Dragon off in orbit about 12 minutes later. Now, the pair will spend roughly the next day in orbit before attempting to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday morning.

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  • Mary Beth Griggs

    May 30, 2020

    Mary Beth Griggs

    Meet the cute stuffed dinosaur that hitched a ride on SpaceX’s historic launch

    Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley had some company on their historic flight to space today: a stuffed dinosaur tucked into one of the seats on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.

    Behnken and Hurley each have a son, and both boys are dinosaur enthusiasts. Before the flight, the boys gathered all their dinosaur toys together, and Tremor, a sparkly apatosaurus was selected to accompany Behnken and Hurley to space. “That was a super cool thing for us to get a chance to do for both of our sons who I hope are super excited to see their toys floating around with us on board,” Behnken said during an tour of the capsule in orbit. “I’m sure they would rather be here, given the opportunity, but hopefully they’re proud of this as well.”

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  • Loren Grush

    May 30, 2020

    Loren Grush

    The Air Force weather team that keeps canceling your rocket launches

    Bad weather at Cape Canaveral forced SpaceX to postpone its first launch attempt on Wednesday, May 27th.
    Bad weather at Cape Canaveral forced SpaceX to postpone its first launch attempt on Wednesday, May 27th.
    Photo by Joel Kowsky / NASA

    With less than 20 minutes to go before SpaceX’s first crewed flight, weather conditions remained miserable, forcing meteorologists at the Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron to deliver bad news to NASA and SpaceX.

    “It definitely hurts, especially when we have those hard requirements that when something hits, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Capt. Jason Fontenot, the space lift weather operations flight commander at the 45th Weather Squadron, said during a press call. “And we just kind of have to pass on the information, saying, ‘Even though we’re not at the launch window yet, this is very unlikely that we will see this take off today.’”

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  • Mary Beth Griggs

    May 30, 2020

    Mary Beth Griggs

    How to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission

    On Saturday, May 30th, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is set to become the first private spacecraft to carry humans into orbit. The launch, scheduled for 3:22PM ET, will also mark the first time in nearly a decade that NASA astronauts have launched into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

    For NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, this will be their second attempt at this historic launch. The first launch attempt, on Wednesday, May 27th, was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions less than 17 minutes before launch. They’ll get another chance today. If today’s launch is delayed for any reason, the next launch attempt will be on Sunday, May 31st, at 3PM ET.

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  • May 30, 2020

    Loren Grush and Sean O'Kane

    SpaceX Crew Dragon launch live blog

    SpaceX is about to make history as it attempts to launch its first passengers to space for NASA. Veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are set to launch on SpaceX’s new capsule, the Crew Dragon, which will take the pair to the International Space Station.

    It’s a big moment for the company, as it’ll mark the first time a private company has ever sent people into orbit. And with this launch taking place from Florida, it’ll be the first time in nearly a decade that people have launched to orbit from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 29, 2020

    Loren Grush

    Here’s what to expect as SpaceX launches its first human crew to space

    Photo by Kim Shiflett / NASA

    On the afternoon of May 30th, SpaceX is slated to launch its very first passengers to space, potentially heralding a new era of human spaceflight for the United States. It’ll be the first time in nearly a decade that people have launched to orbit from American soil, and it’ll be the first time that a private vehicle takes them there.

    This historic flight is really a test. It’s the last big milestone for SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The experimental initiative tasked private companies with creating new spacecraft for NASA that are capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX’s contribution to the program is a sleek, gumdrop-shaped capsule called the Crew Dragon. While it’s flown a few times before, the capsule has yet to carry people to space.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 27, 2020

    Loren Grush

    SpaceX delays first historic crewed launch to space due to weather

    Image: SpaceX

    Just 17 minutes before its planned launch, SpaceX postponed its first crewed flight to space on Wednesday afternoon due to bad weather over the launch site in Florida. The two passengers on board SpaceX’s capsule — NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley — will try again on Saturday, May 30th.

    “Not quite going to make it for this,” one person said over the mission control audio leading up to the flight.

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  • Barbara Krasnoff

    May 27, 2020

    Barbara Krasnoff

    How to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission

    Update May 27th, 4:42PM ET: With less than 17 minutes left in the countdown, the launch on May 27th was scrubbed due to weather conditions over the launch site in Florida. The next attempt will take place on Saturday, May 30th, at 3:22PM ET.

    For the first time since 2011, a space mission carrying two passengers to the International Space Station will launch from US soil. It will also mark the first time a private spacecraft has carried astronauts into orbit — and you can watch all the action live.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 26, 2020

    Loren Grush

    Here’s what to expect as SpaceX launches its first human crew to space

    Photo by Kim Shiflett / NASA

    On the afternoon of May 30th, SpaceX is slated to launch its very first passengers to space, potentially heralding a new era of human spaceflight for the United States. It’ll be the first time in nearly a decade that people have launched to orbit from American soil, and it’ll be the first time that a private vehicle takes them there.

    This historic flight is really a test. It’s the last big milestone for SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The experimental initiative tasked private companies with creating new spacecraft for NASA that are capable of transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX’s contribution to the program is a sleek, gumdrop-shaped capsule called the Crew Dragon. While it’s flown a few times before, the capsule has yet to carry people to space.

    Read Article >
  • Nicole Wetsman

    May 25, 2020

    Nicole Wetsman

    How SpaceX and NASA are launching astronauts into space during a pandemic

    NASA’s Final Space Shuttle Flight Lifts Off From Cape Canaveral
    The last time a rocket launched from US soil, nearly one million people gathered to watch
    Photo by Carla Cioffi/NASA via Getty Images

    Ahead of this week’s launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, NASA is working to keep the enduring threat of COVID-19 at bay during the historic launch. To protect its astronauts, ground crew, and potential visitors, NASA has adjusted their approach to this highly anticipated event. If successful, the launch will not only break the US’s nine-year drought of crewed launches to the ISS, but it will also make history as the first time a private spacecraft has carried people into orbit.

    “We’re taking extra precautions,” said Steve Stich, deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, during a press call this month. On the ground, the agency is introducing temperature checks and physical distancing at Mission Control.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 22, 2020

    Loren Grush

    NASA and SpaceX say they are ‘go’ to proceed with historic crewed flight on May 27th

    After two days of intense reviews, NASA is giving its commercial partner SpaceX the thumbs-up to launch its first astronauts to space next week. There’s still more work to be done by both the agency and SpaceX, including another review on Monday, but officials decided there were no major issues standing in the way of the launch.

    “It was a good review, great discussion,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a press conference. “I think everybody in the room was very clear that now’s the time to speak up if there are any challenges.” Bridenstine noted that many people did speak up, and they had a lot of discussions about various aspects of the mission. “At the end we got to a ‘go,’” he said. “So we are now preparing for a launch in five short days.”

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  • Loren Grush

    May 21, 2020

    Loren Grush

    How the SpaceX Crew Dragon mission could shape the future of commercial space

    Photo: SpaceX

    On the afternoon of May 27th, two veteran NASA astronauts will make history when they strap themselves into a newly developed spacecraft on the east coast of Florida and blast off to the International Space Station. They will be the first people to launch on a truly private spacecraft — the Crew Dragon, built and operated by SpaceX. It’s a launch that could mark the beginning of a new era of spaceflight in the United States.

    The mission is the culmination of nearly a decade of development and partnership between SpaceX and NASA. If successful, it will mark the first time that Americans have launched to orbit from the United States since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. For the last nine years, all of NASA’s astronauts have launched to the International Space Station on Russian rockets from Kazakhstan. 

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  • Loren Grush

    May 20, 2020

    Loren Grush

    Meet the first NASA astronauts SpaceX will launch to orbit

    Illustration by Grayson Blackmon | Photos: NASA

    NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are about to star in the biggest spaceflight event of the decade: launching on the inaugural flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. For years, they’ve anticipated this moment, picturing throngs of people lined up on Florida’s beaches to watch them ascend into the sky.

    “Everyone is like, ‘When is it going to be? Am I going to get invited?’” Hurley told The Verge last year of the texts he received from eager friends and family. “It’s fun ... being able to have a lot more people come and enjoy and see a launch in Florida than they would be able to in Kazakhstan.”

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  • Loren Grush

    May 12, 2020

    Loren Grush

    Try to dock with the International Space Station with this SpaceX Crew Dragon simulator

    Later this month, SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon spacecraft will take its first human passengers to the International Space Station — and now you can get a firsthand view of what they’ll be seeing when they approach the orbiting lab. Today, SpaceX released a new online simulator that allows users to try their hand at manually docking with the ISS using the Crew Dragon’s controls. Spoiler alert: it’s actually pretty hard!

    The simulator begins with your Crew Dragon vehicle radically askew in space. Ahead, a virtual recreation of the International Space Station awaits, but the docking system on your Crew Dragon is pointed at an angle away from the port with which it needs to align. Luckily, there are plenty of controls to fix the vehicle’s position and approach the station. But remember, in space, it’s not as simple as moving forward, backward, or turning. You’ve got six degrees of freedom, so you also need to be pitched properly and roll the vehicle to its right orientation.

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  • Loren Grush

    May 11, 2020

    Loren Grush

    Former astronaut and SpaceX consultant on creating a new crewed spacecraft: ‘We were really the underdogs’

    For former NASA astronaut Garret Reisman, SpaceX’s May 27 launch of the company’s first human passengers to space is going to be a very personal moment. Reisman worked at SpaceX for years, helping the company win NASA contracts and overseeing operations of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft — both the new crewed version, and its predecessor, which brought cargo to the International Space Station.

    Reisman left SpaceX in 2018 to become a professor at the University of Southern California, but he’s maintained contact with the company as a consultant. Soon, he’ll be watching when his friends, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, fly on the vehicle he helped develop at SpaceX. “When there’s somebody on there that I know — emotionally, psychologically it changes everything,” Reisman tells The Verge.

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  • Loren Grush

    Apr 23, 2020

    Loren Grush

    NASA administrator urges people not to travel to Florida to watch historic SpaceX launch

    At the end of May, NASA astronauts are slated to launch to space from the United States once again, after nearly a decade of launching on Russian rockets from Kazakhstan — but NASA does not want members of the public to travel to see the mission in person. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is urging people to stay home and watch the historic mission online because of safety concerns associated with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

    “We are asking people to join us in this launch, but to do so from home,” NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a press conference today on the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  • Loren Grush

    Apr 17, 2020

    Loren Grush

    NASA sets date for SpaceX’s first passenger flight on Crew Dragon

    NASA and SpaceX are now targeting May 27th for the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon — a newly developed vehicle designed to take astronauts to the International Space Station. The demonstration mission, which will carry two NASA astronauts to orbit, will mark the first time people have launched from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.

    This flight has been in the making for years, ever since NASA selected SpaceX and rival Boeing to develop new spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS as part of the Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX has been transforming its Dragon cargo capsule —which has been taking supplies to the ISS for years — into a vehicle that can carry people. After six years of development, as well as various testing successes and failures along the way, the capsule is ready to finally carry its first passengers on a flight test. NASA astronaut Doug Hurley will serve as the spacecraft commander while NASA astronaut Bob Behnken will be the joint operations commander.

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  • Chaim Gartenberg

    Apr 2, 2020

    Chaim Gartenberg

    NASA brings back its iconic ‘worm’ logo for upcoming Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch

    NASA is officially bringing back its iconic “worm” logo from the 1970s for SpaceX’s upcoming Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced today on Twitter. The organization is seeking to “mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil.”

    The worm logo was introduced in 1975 by design firm Danne & Black­burn as part of an effort to “upgrade” the space agency’s graphics from the original “meatball” logo that NASA had been using since 1959. The logo is practically synonymous with that era of spaceflight, adorning the Hubble Telescope and the original test flight shuttle, Enterprise. But despite the slick, modern design, the worm logo was officially retired in 1992 in favor of a return to the original meatball logo, which is still used today by NASA. (Although the worm logo did still stick around for merchandising opportunities.)

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  • Loren Grush

    Mar 19, 2020

    Loren Grush

    NASA and SpaceX still targeting May for first crewed mission to space amid coronavirus pandemic

    After six years of developing a new passenger spacecraft for NASA, SpaceX is finally on track to launch its very first crew to the International Space Station in mid-to-late May — but uncertainty surrounds the flight as the novel coronavirus pandemic worsens in the US. On Wednesday, NASA put out a call for press to cover the mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but if current restrictions remain in place over the next couple of months, changes will likely need to be made as the mission proceeds.

    Despite the pandemic, the mission itself is set to be historic. The last time astronauts launched to orbit from the United States was July 8th, 2011 — the last flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle. Since then, NASA astronauts have relied on Russia’s Soyuz rocket to get to and from the International Space Station. Each seat on that vehicle costs the space agency more than $70 million. In order to move launches back to US soil, in 2014 NASA tasked two companies — Boeing and SpaceX — with developing private space capsules that can ferry astronauts to the ISS, part of an initiative called the Commercial Crew Program. Now, SpaceX is finally poised to launch its first human passengers on its new Crew Dragon vehicle, marking the first time a commercial vehicle has launched people to orbit.

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  • Loren Grush

    Mar 7, 2020

    Loren Grush

    SpaceX launches the last flight of its original Dragon cargo capsule

    SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending the final Dragon 1 spacecraft into orbit.
    SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending the final Dragon 1 spacecraft into orbit.
    NASA/Kim Shiflett

    Late last night, SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on the company’s 20th cargo mission to the International Space Station, sending more than 4,500 pounds of supplies and science experiments to the three crew members living in orbit. Following takeoff, SpaceX then landed its Falcon 9 on a landing pad in Florida — the 50th overall rocket landing for the company.

    While it was a fairly routine launch for the company, it was also a significant one: the final resupply mission for NASA under SpaceX’s original contract with the space agency. That doesn’t mean SpaceX will be done launching supplies to the ISS, though. In 2016, NASA awarded SpaceX a second contract to continuing launching cargo missions to the station through 2024. And once this new round of launches begins, SpaceX’s hardware will get an upgrade too. The company has long used its Dragon 1 cargo capsule to carry all the supplies to the ISS, but now, SpaceX will begin using its new Dragon 2 capsule.

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  • Loren Grush

    Jan 22, 2020

    Loren Grush

    NASA administrator on the year ahead: ‘A lot of things have to go right’

    NASA has a big to-do list for 2020, as the agency continues to build its Artemis program with the goal of sending the first woman to the Moon by 2024. This year, NASA also hopes to start launching its astronauts from the US again, after nearly a decade of launching them to space on Russian vehicles. It’s still unclear if NASA will meet all the ambitious deadlines it has set for itself.

    Yet, the agency has already started off this year strong. This weekend, SpaceX launched a crucial flight test for NASA that could pave the way for the company to start launching the space agency’s astronauts sometime this year. That puts NASA in a good starting position, though there’s still quite a lot of work to be done.

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