SpaceX launches astronauts into space in historic test

SpaceX has launched two American astronauts into space in what marks the final major test for the company’s human spaceflight system to be certified for operational crew missions to and from the ISS.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft, which sat atop a Falcon 9 rocket, blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:22 p.m. ET. Called Demo-2, it’s Crew Dragon’s first manned mission into orbit.

The Demo-2 mission also marked the first manned spaceflight from U.S. soil in nearly 9 years. Crew Dragon is carrying 2 NASA astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who are heading to the ISS.