Elon Musk breathed a huge sigh of relief and raised both arms in the air after 53-year-old Douglas Hurley and 49-year-old Robert Behnken took off at 3:22 pm in Florida.
The astronauts are in a rocket and capsule constructed by Mr. Musk’s company SpaceX and on their way to the International Space Station. Upon reaching the orbit, the capsule containing the NASA astronauts will break off from Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets delivered multiple cargo payloads to orbit but Mr. Hurley and Mr. Behnken are the first people to make the trip with the spaceflight company.
Once the mission is complete, the vehicle will be certified for operational use for transporting people to space.
“I think this is something that should really get people right in the heart – anyone who has a spirit of exploration,” the billionaire entrepreneur said.
“I am really quite overcome with emotion – it’s kind of hard to talk really. It’s been 18 years working towards this goal. It’s really hard to believe that it’s happened,” he added. “This is a craft made by humans, for humans, I think it’s something humanity should be proud about occurring on this day.”
Despite the successful launch, Mr. Musk said that the “return can be more dangerous than the ascent.”
“We need to bring them home safely and make sure that we are doing everything we can to minimise that risk of reentry,” he added.
Mr. Hurley and Mr. Behnken will join NASA’s Chris Cassidy and Russia’s Ivan Vagner and Anatoli Ivanishin, and they will become members of the Expedition 63 crew.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a press conference: “Maybe there´s an opportunity here for America to maybe pause and look up and see a bright, shining moment of hope at what the future looks like, that the United States of America can do extraordinary things even in difficult times.”
Neil Wight, one of the spectators, said: “It’s pretty historically significant in my book and a lot of other people´s books. With everything that´s going on in this country right now, it´s important that we do things extraordinary in life.”
The return part of the mission is designed to be automated, with the rocket performing boost-back engine firing to regulate its re-entry and descent.
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