NASA, SpaceX launch astronauts from US soil for the first time in a decade

A SpaceX spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts soared into outer space Saturday — marking the first time humans have traveled into Earth’s orbit from US soil in nearly a decade.

Liftoff occurred just after 3:20 pm ET from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Astronauts Robert Behnken, 49, and Douglas Hurley, 53, will spend about 19 hours aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule as it slowly maneuvers its way toward the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30, 2020. - NASA astronauts Hurley and Bob Behnken are set to depart for an extended stay at the International Space Station on the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. (Photo by Gregg Newton / AFP) (Photo by GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images)

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The spacecraft is expected to dock with the space station around at 10:29 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 31.

The United States hasn’t launched its own astronauts into space since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011. Since then, NASA’s astronauts have had to travel to Russia and train on the country’s Soyuz spacecraft. Those seats have cost NASA as much as $86 million each.

The launch also marked the first time in history that a commercial aerospace company has carried humans into Earth’s orbit.

The launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has moved forward despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shuttered both private and government operations across the US. NASA says it needed to carry on with the mission in order to keep the International Space Station, a giant orbiting laboratory, fully staffed with US astronauts.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, splashes down into the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, August 2.

Hurley, left, and Behnken, second from right, ride in a helicopter after returning from space.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft is lifted onto a recovery ship shortly after splashdown.

Behnken and Hurley give a thumbs-up before being extracted from the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Boats swarm around the Crew Dragon shortly after splashdown. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a news conference that the Coast Guard was supposed to keep a large swath of ocean around the landing site clear but that some boats made a "beeline" for the capsule. In a statement on August 2, the Coast Guard said, "With limited assets available and with no formal authority to establish zones that would stop boaters from entering the area, numerous boaters ignored the Coast Guard crews' requests and decided to encroach the area, putting themselves and those involved in the operation in potential danger."

Hurley and Behnken prepare to undock from the International Space Station on Saturday, August 1.

NASA tweeted this photo of Behnken and Hurley on Friday, July 30.

"If the weather at our splashdown location is right, next week at this time @SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour will no longer be docked to the front of @Space_Station," Behnken tweeted on Wednesday, July 29. "My family is excited!"

Hurley tweeted this photo of Behnken and Chris Cassidy on a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on July 21.

Hurley, left, and Behnken brief mission control on June 1.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on May 31.

Spectators watch the SpaceX launch from a bridge in Titusville, Florida, on May 30.

Huge crowds gathered to watch the launch from Titusville, across from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The spacecraft heads toward the International Space Station on May 30.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event at Kennedy Space Center after the launch.

An American flag flies as the SpaceX rocket lifts off on May 30.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk celebrates after the successful launch.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, join President Trump as they watch the launch on May 30.

People watch the launch from a beach in Cape Canaveral.

Monitors are seen in the Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center.

Liftoff occurred just after 3:20 p.m. on May 30.

Hurley says goodbye to his wife and son before the launch on May 30.

Trump and Pence arrive at Kennedy Space Center on May 30.

Hurley and Behnken walk out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on May 30.

This was the scene moments before NASA scrubbed a launch on May 27. It was postponed due to bad weather.

Trump and his wife, Melania, tour the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility on May 27.

The Trumps exit Air Force One as they arrive at Kennedy Space Center on May 27.

Hurley and Behnken ride a Tesla SUV on their way to the launch pad before the cancellation on May 27.

Hurley and Behnken say goodbye to family members ahead of the planned launch on May 27.

Storm clouds pass over NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on May 27.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk wears a face mask while standing near Vice President Mike Pence.

Hurley and Behnken walk out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building.

Spectators look out from a hotel balcony in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on May 27.

Hurley and Behnken prepare to place mission stickers on the windshields of their Tesla vehicles.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on top, sits on Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

Spectators wait at a park in Titusville early on May 27.

In pictures: SpaceX's historic mission

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NASA, SpaceX and military personnel gathered in control rooms to support the launch, and they implemented additional safety measures, such as changing control rooms when a new shift begins so that the other room can be deep cleaned.

Prior to the launch, the space agency’s top official, Jim Bridenstine, said he hoped it will inspire awe and uplift the general public during the ongoing health crisis.

On the ground in Florida, local authorities were bracing for an influx of spectators who were expected to gather on nearby beaches, which were recently reopened after weeks of lockdown amid the battle against Covid-19.

A few dozen journalists were permitted to cover the launch from the press area at Kennedy Space Center, but strict social distancing policies and guidelines around wearing masks were implemented. Bridenstine held most briefings by telephone, for instance, and in-person interviews were conducted one-by-one with news crews.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in SpaceX's flight simulator for the Crew Dragon launch.

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This launch also served as a sort of litmus test for NASA’s push to partner more extensively with the private sector.

SpaceX developed Crew Dragon under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which, for the first time in the space agency’s history, handed over much of the design, development and testing of new human-rated spacecraft to the private sector. NASA awarded SpaceX and Boeing a fixed-price contracts to get the job done, and after Boeing suffered a major setback during an uncrewed test flight last year,

That decision wasn’t without controversy, particularly in the Commercial Crew Program’s early days. But Saturday’s success could be seen as a huge win for folks at NASA who hope to rely more extensively on similar contracts to help accomplish the space agency’s goals.

Bridenstine, for example, hopes to rely heavily on private-sector partnerships to accomplish the space agency’s ambitious goal of landing US astronauts on the moon in 2024.

“Ultimately, what we’re trying to achieve is having numerous providers that are competing against each other on costs, innovation and safety. And then NASA can be a customer, one customer of many customers, and we already know that this will save a ton of money over the long term,” Bridenstine told CNN Business’ Rachel Crane earlier this week.