SpaceX Launches First Private Passenger Spacecraft to ISS

“SpaceX successfully launched its Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 2:49 am EST this morning. Main engine cutoff and stage separation were confirmed by SpaceX at 2:52 am EST. First stage successfully landed on the drone ship platform Of Course I Still Love You at 3:00 am EST. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station early Sunday morning. It will spend about five days docked to the station before returning to Earth and splashing down in the Atlantic. The launch marks the first time a private American rocket and spacecraft built for human passengers has ever been launched to travel to the space station. An upcoming crewed mission, Demonstration Mission 2, is scheduled for July.”

“SpaceX Launches,” Futurism.com, Mar. 1, 2019

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