A new era of human spaceflight may soon be upon us.
SpaceX and NASA teamed up to successfully launch the Falcon 9 rocket, which safely delivered the spacecraft Crew Dragon into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida on Saturday morning.
While there were no people aboard during the launch — just a mannequin named after Sigourney Weaver's Alien character, Ripley — the Dragon is the first American spacecraft since 2011 and the retirement of the space shuttle to be capable of carrying humans into space. Ars Technica described the mission as a "critical" one for NASA.
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The Dragon's next major test is to successfully dock with the International Space Station within the next 24 hours. But so far, so good.
"Tonight was a big night for the United States of America, a great night for NASA," Jim Bridenstine, a NASA administrator, said following the launch. Watch the launch below. Tim O'Donnell
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