SpaceX And NASA Send Astronauts To Space

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- Suzaan Hall

It looks like something from a movie. Someone counts down from 10, then the rocket launches into the air. This particular rocket, Falcon 9, took the Crew Dragon shuttle into space at the end of May with two astronauts from NASA, the American space agency, on board: Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.

The successful launch took place at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in the US and was watched by President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence, among others.

A few minutes later, the shuttle separated from the rocket and went into orbit around Earth.

What made this event so special is that a launch rocket is usually used only once. After the shuttle separates, the rocket usually falls back to Earth and lands in the ocean. But the private company SpaceX designed Falcon 9 so it can land back on Earth and be used again – saving a ton of money.

The second part of the mission was also successful. A whole 19 hours after the launch, Robert and Douglas and the SpaceX team from the US successfully docked the Crew Dragon at the International Space Station (ISS) – with both the shuttle and the ISS travelling at 27 500km/h.

The mission will only be classified successful once the two astronauts have returned safely to Earth.

Why is this mission such big news?