CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Crew Dragon spacecraft took off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida Sunday night and is en route to the International Space Station.
The Crew Dragon capsule is expected to dock on the ISS late Monday night.
The launch, a collaboration between SpaceX and NASA, marks the first fully operational mission for the Crew Dragon capsule. It comes after a successful test mission in May of this year, in which astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley spent two months on the ISS.
Four astronauts are on the Crew-1 mission. Mission specialist Shannon Walker, pilot Victor Glover, and Commander Michael Hopkins are astronauts from NASA on board. Mission specialist Soichi Noguchi also joins the crew from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
The astronauts named their capsule Resilience, a nod to the many challenges that 2020 has presented according to commander Michael Hopkins.
"As you look at the definition of resilience, you know, that means functioning well in times of stress or overcoming adverse events. And I think all of us can agree that 2020 has certainly been a challenging year," Hopkins said a few weeks before take off. "A global pandemic, economic hardships, civil unrest, isolation. And despite all of that, SpaceX, NASA has kept the production line open and finished this amazing vehicle that is getting ready to go on its maiden flight to the International Space Station."
The spacecraft is the first commercial spacecraft certified by NASA for regular flights with astronauts. This mission is also historic for its diversity. Pilot Victor Glover will become the first black astronaut to spend an extended period of time aboard the space station.
The crew will live on the ISS for six months to conduct maintenance as well as scientific research. This includes studying the role of microgravity on human health and diseases, and how to grow food in space among other scientific studies.
To watch full coverage of the historic journey to the ISS, go to NASA TV at nasa.gov/nasalive.