NASA Returns to Human Spaceflight Again
After a nine-year gap, NASA returned American astronauts to orbit on May 30, 2020 — launching Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon in a defining moment for commercial spaceflight.
Astronaut Doug Hurley
Astronaut Bob Behnken
On May 30, 2020, at 3:22 EDT, NASA’s historic return to space is successful with the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are NASA’s team to usher in the new commercial space race.
Hurley isn’t a stranger to human spaceflight, whereas he piloted the final space shuttle Atlantis mission STS-135 in July 2011. On this mission, he has successfully docked the Crew Dragon to the Harmony module at the International Space Station (ISS). With both Hurley and Behnken safely aboard the ISS, they will remain there for 2-4 months, depending on many items falling into place, including the timing of the next scheduled mission, Crew-1. The timeline for the Crew-1 launch is towards the end of August this year.
The videos below capture historical moments leading up to the launch, including Hurley piloting the Crew Dragon to and connecting with the ISS successfully.
Video source: NASA