NASA, SpaceX to Launch First Astronauts to Space Station from U.S. Since 2011

“American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station” for the first time since 2011.

NASA will utilize SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, in what NASA is calling “the final flight test for SpaceX”. If successful, SpaceX’s ability to transport humans, and not just cargo, will be validated. Validation, NASA says, “lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program, which will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.”

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will take off from Earth on May 27.