On May 30, a private company SpaceX owned by Elon Musk and NASA successfully launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Elon Musk once again made a breakthrough: on May 30, SpaceX and NASA launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Initially, the launch of the Crew Dragon was supposed to take place on May 27. But 16 minutes before the launch, the mission had been postponed until May 30 due to the weather conditions.
On May 30, the whole world was watching the broadcast, waiting for the launch of the Falcon-9 rocket. American astronauts Douglas Harley and Robert Benken were on board of the spacecraft. The final countdown and the Falcon-9 rocket went into space. After the launch, the first stage booster successfully detached from the rocket and returned to the platform in the Atlantic Ocean. After it, the second stage booster separated, and the Crew Dragon capsule entered orbit.
The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on May 31. The spaceflight lasted 19 hours.
Station Commander Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin, and Ivan Wagner met American astronauts at the ISS.
The launch of the Crew Dragon was a landmark accomplishment in US history. Over the past 9 years, after the Space Shuttle program was shut down, the United States used the “Союз” spacecraft to send American astronauts to the ISS.
Elon Musk commented on the launch of Crew Dragon, saying that although the launch of the spacecraft was successful, it is necessary to prepare for the safe return of astronauts to Earth. At the moment, astronauts are on the ISS. Elon Musk also added that this mission is “the first step on a journey toward civilization on Mars.”
