9-year drought in U.S. space program ended May 30th

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  • Shown is the smooth, uninhibited lift-off on Saturday, May 30th, for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center at 3:22 p.m. with two astronauts onboard heading to the International Space Station. Photo Source: NASA
    Shown is the smooth, uninhibited lift-off on Saturday, May 30th, for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket took off from Kennedy Space Center at 3:22 p.m. with two astronauts onboard heading to the International Space Station. Photo Source: NASA
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On Saturday, May 30th, at Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off in flight at 3:22 p.m. Onboard were two astronauts - Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley - riding in the astronaut capsule, thus ending the 9-year drought for the U.S. astronaut launch program.

The astronauts’ planned destination was the International Space Station (ISS), and successfully docked there mid-morning Sunday. After a few hours to allow pressure equalization between ISS and the Endeavour (as Behnken and Hurley had named the spacecraft), the two astronauts were able to float into the ISS and greet their astronaut peer, Chris Cassidy, and two Russian cosmonauts. Chris has been stationed at ISS since April of this year.

NASA officials have not set a final return date for Behnken and Hurley, but it could be as little as five weeks or as long as four months.

Reference: Washington Post