Four astronauts are cruising to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX capsule, in the company's first crewed trip with previously flown equipment. The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting lab early Saturday, slightly more than 23 hours after blasting off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5.49 a.m. in Florida.
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The capsule was performing as expected in orbit Friday about 125 miles (200 kilometers) above Earth. The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. | Above: A security helicopter streaks by launch pad 39A near the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ahead of the Crew-2 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 23, 2021.
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NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet arrive for the boarding of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
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"We wish you a great mission," SpaceX launch engineer Jack Healy told the crew minutes before liftoff. "Good luck and enjoy the ride." | Above: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet OF France, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of Japan await the launch of their NASA commercial crew mission to the International Space Station, within the Crew Dragon capsule of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 23, 2021
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The voyage on a capsule and rocket that have flown before marks another milestone for Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s success at pioneering reusability in the launch business. Founder Elon Musk has championed the goal of designing spacecraft for multiple missions as the only practical and economical method to lower launch costs and expand human exploration - specifically to Mars.
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At a post-launch news conference, Musk talked up the goal of reusing spacecraft and fielded a wide range of questions, despite a NASA spokeswoman's entreaties to reporters to focus on the day's mission. The billionaire said he only recently came to believe that a large rocket such as SpaceX's futuristic Starship can become "fully and rapidly reusable." Figuring out how to do that is a thorny problem that will be the key to making humans a multiplanetary species, he said. | Above: The burner from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew-2 mission astronauts, is seen after lifting off from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 23, 2021.
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Starship, SpaceX's newest and biggest rocket, could be ready for human flights in two years, he said, while acknowledging that his track record for timing often has been overly optimistic. Starship prototypes suffered four mishaps in the first four test flights in South Texas. A fifth attempt could occur as soon as this month. "Obviously, we need to not be making craters" with the Starship tests, Musk said.
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The Dragon capsule on Friday's mission already had taken two astronauts to and from the space station last year on SpaceX's first crewed test flight for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Falcon 9 rocket on the latest flight last flew in November to carry four astronauts to the space station for SpaceX's first regular ferry trip for NASA, a mission known as Crew-1.
Image Credit: AP
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