The SpaceX Launch Made History, and the Astronauts Are on the Space Station

The one bright spot in the news this weekend was the SpaceX launch, which was a huge success.  Here’s a quick rundown in case you missed it . . .

1.  It launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday afternoon, two days after it got delayed by weather.  President Trump was there for it, and everything went as planned.  (Here’s the footage.  NASA also posted a pretty cool recap video.)

2.  It’s the first time astronauts have launched from U.S. soil since 2011.  And it’s the first time a private company has put someone into orbit.  SpaceX founder Elon Musk called it the, quote, “first step on a journey toward a civilization on Mars.”

3.  Apparently even NASA agrees AC/DC’s “Back in Black” is a good song to pump yourself up to.  Before the launch, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley listened to it on their way to the rocket.

4.  One of the coolest parts of the SpaceX rocket is that it’s reusable.  Less than ten minutes after liftoff, the rocket booster landed on a platform in the middle of the ocean.

Falcon 9 booster has landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship! pic.twitter.com/96Nd3vsrT2

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 30, 2020

5.  Roughly five minutes after that, the astronauts hit orbit.  It took another 19 hours to reach the Space Station.  So they burned ten minutes livestreaming themselves showing off the inside of the capsule.  (Here’s video.)

6.  They docked with the Space Station yesterday morning.

Docking confirmed! @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug officially docked to the @Space_Station at 10:16am ET: pic.twitter.com/hCM4UvbwjR

— NASA (@NASA) May 31, 2020

NASA posted footage of them entering through an airlock and hugging the other astronauts on board.  They’ll be there at least five weeks.  (Here’s the footage.)

This is the first time in human history @NASA_Astronauts have entered the @Space_Station from a commercially-made spacecraft. @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug have finally arrived to the orbiting laboratory in @SpaceX‘s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/3t9Ogtpik4

— NASA (@NASA) May 31, 2020