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| Meta Title | How SpaceX and NASA's Crew-1 Mission Should Go, From Launch to Landing - Business Insider |
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| Boilerpipe Text | SpaceX launched its most important NASA mission yet on Sunday: Elon Musk's rocket company catapulted four astronauts into Earth's orbit on its
Crew Dragon spaceship
.
Crew-1, as the flight is called, will be SpaceX's first full-length mission for NASA. It's also the company's second time launching people and the longest-duration human space mission ever launched from US soil. The current record, 84 days, has held since the longest Skylab mission more than 45 years ago.
The spaceship is set to orbit Earth for about 27 hours before docking to the International Space Station. After that, the astronauts are expected to stay aboard the floating laboratory for about half a year.
"We are ready for this launch. We are ready for the six months of work that is waiting for us on board the International Space Station, and we are ready for the return," NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, who commands the mission, said during a pre-launch news conference.
Hopkins' crew members
are NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japanese Aerospace Agency astronaut
Soichi Noguchi.
Here's how their flight should play out and what to expect at each stage of the mission.
On Sunday evening, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off with its Crew Dragon spaceship on top.
SpaceX and NASA's Crew-1 mission launches toward the International Space Station on November 15, 2020.
SpaceX/NASA
The rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 7:27 p.m. ET.
Glover is piloting the Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience, and Hopkins is the commander.
The Crew-1 astronauts, from left to right: Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi.
SpaceX
Walker and Noguchi are mission specialists.
This is Glover's first spaceflight. "I really look forward to every single bit of it," he told Business Insider. "Every time I do something in space, it will be the first time."
Victor Glover raises his hands after being selected by NASA to fly on the second crewed mission of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, August 3, 2018.
David J. Phillip/AP
"I did not imagine that I would get to do what I'm doing," he added. "To be the pilot of this spacecraft is just such an honor and responsibility."
The Crew-1 mission is the first of six round-trip astronaut flights that NASA has contracted from SpaceX.
From top left: Shannon Walker, Soichi Noguchi, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins pose with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
Jim Bridenstine/NASA
The flights mark NASA's return to human spaceflight after the gap created when the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
NASA officially certified SpaceX's launch system — including its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spaceship — after the completion of a two-day flight-readiness review.
The Crew-1 astronauts sit inside the Crew Dragon during training. From left: Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi.
SpaceX via NASA
The launch system ticked off the last requirements to be fully certified for routine use by NASA astronauts — the first time a commercial system has received that recognition.
But the space company has been working on the launch system for nearly a decade, initially with no government funding. Its earliest Falcon 9 rocket prototype, known as Grasshopper, began test flights in 2012.
On launch day, the astronauts suited up, said goodbye to their families, and drove to the launchpad in Teslas.
Left to right: Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Soichi Noguchi say goodbye to their families, November 15, 2020.
NASA/Kim Shiflett
"I think my family is excited. And that's exciting for me, because my goal in this entire endeavor was to make sure that it continued to be a family adventure," Glover
said on a NASA podcast in October.
They took an elevator up to the crew-access arm, then climbed into the Crew Dragon.
Soichi Noguchi and Victor Glover fist-bump before climbing into the Crew Dragon capsule, November 15, 2020.
NASA TV
A team helped strap the crew members into their seats.
Mission managers initially feared a launch delay after detecting a small leak during a test.
The launch-support team prepares to close the Crew Dragon hatch with the astronauts inside, November 15, 2020.
NASA TV
But the workers solved the problem after finding and cleaning out a piece of debris.
The astronauts waited for the rocket to be filled with fuel — perhaps the longest 35 minutes of their lives.
The Falcon 9 rocket is loaded with propellant for launch, November 15, 2020.
NASA TV
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the first people to fly SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, said there's a distinct rumble once the rocket is full, Noguchi told reporters on Monday.
"I'm really anxious to feel that vibration," he said.
Once fueled, the Falcon 9's Merlin engines roared to life, spewing fire and smoke, and heaved the rocket off the launchpad.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the Demo-2 mission, May 30, 2020.
NASA/Bill Ingalls
Lift-off is instantaneous, meaning it
must occur at the precise second it's scheduled
. Waiting any longer would allow the ultracold propellant to warm up, expand, and boil off — and fuel loss increases the risk of a dangerous rocket failure. So if there had been any delay, SpaceX would have been forced to try again another day.
The force of the launch pressed the astronauts into their seats as the Falcon 9 spent the next nine minutes accelerating Crew Dragon to 17,500 mph.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launches the Crew Dragon with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley onboard, May 30, 2020.
SpaceX via Getty Images
That's about 10 times as fast as a bullet, and the speed required to orbit (or endlessly freefall around) Earth at the space station's altitude.
If there had been a major problem with the rocket en route to orbit, an escape system is designed to automatically pull Crew Dragon to safety.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship separates from an intentionally failing Falcon 9 rocket in a demonstration test on January 19, 2020.
SpaceX via Twitter
SpaceX
showed the system works
in January by launching a Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket that was programmed to fail and explode in mid-air. During the most strenuous part of the flight, the ship — empty save for a mannequin —
safely flew away from the doomed rocket
.
Once the Falcon 9 rocket booster expended most of its fuel, it detached from the upper stage and landed itself on a boat at sea.
The Falcon 9 booster lands on a ship after launching the Demo-2 mission into space, May 30, 2020.
SpaceX
That way, it can be reused to fly another day. The Crew Dragon, meanwhile, continued on to
low-Earth orbit
.
Now that they're orbit, the astronauts have 27 hours to roam the Crew Dragon's cabin.
Bob Behnken and "Tremor," the sequined dinosaur plushie that traveled aboard the Crew Dragon during the Demo-2 mission, May 30, 2020.
NASA TV
They will also get some sleep for the big day ahead.
Before their launch, the astronauts had been in Cape Canaveral since November 8, busy with pre-launch preparations.
The Crew-1 astronauts arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on November 8, 2020.
NASA/Kim Shiflett
"The nerves start to really pile on as you get closer to launch," Hopkins said.
The Crew Dragon arrived at the Kennedy Space Center three days before the astronauts. Then it was secured on top of the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Crew Dragon Resilience and its Falcon 9 rocket in the SpaceX hangar at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 9, 2020,
SpaceX
The reusable, two-stage rocket is
230 feet tall
and weighs over 1.2 million pounds.
The launch system was rolled onto the launchpad and lifted into a vertical position on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
The Resilience Crew Dragon capsule sits atop the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A on November 10, 2020.
SpaceX via Twitter
The launchpad's crew access arm is where the astronauts climbed into the Crew Dragon.
The astronauts and support teams carried out a dress rehearsal on Thursday.
Astronauts Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins (front), with Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi behind them, wear SpaceX spacesuits on their way to Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal, November 12, 2020.
Joel Kowsky/NASA
Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi suited up and drove out to the launchpad to practice boarding the Crew Dragon.
NASA and SpaceX convened on Friday to review everything before signing off on the launch. They decided to push liftoff back from Saturday, as originally scheduled, to Sunday.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks after the Crew Dragon in-flight abort test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, January 19, 2020.
Steve Nesius/Reuters
Winds had made conditions unsuitable to get a crucial SpaceX boat out to sea on time. The boat is where the first-stage Falcon 9 booster lands after returning to Earth.
After its stint in orbit, the Crew Dragon capsule should edge close to the ISS on Monday evening.
The Crew Dragon docks to the International Space Station, May 31, 2020.
Chris Cassidy
SpaceX and NASA expect the Crew Dragon to perform a series of automated maneuvers to dock to the station around 11 p.m. ET on Monday.
Kate Rubins, the NASA astronaut currently on the ISS, is waiting to greet the new crew.
NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins on the ISS.
NASA
"I have some great friends flying on that vehicle, so I'm going to be pretty happy to open the hatch and welcome them to the space station," she told Business Insider.
Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will also welcome Crew-1 to the football-field-size laboratory.
The new arrivals will live and work on the station for a full rotation of about six months. The Crew Dragon will stay docked the entire time.
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley float into the International Space Station on May 31, 2020, after riding SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA
That will make Crew-1 the longest human spaceflight the US has ever launched. Russia's Soyuz missions have regularly achieved such mission durations for decades.
Behnken and Hurley, by contrast, only stayed for two months, since their SpaceX mission was a demonstration. But new upgrades will allow the Crew Dragon to stay in orbit for up to 210 days without its solar panels degrading in the harsh environment of space.
Eventually, the Crew-1 astronauts will climb back inside the Crew Dragon then return to Earth.
An illustration of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship returning to Earth with a blaze of plasma ahead of its heat shield.
SpaceX via YouTube
As it plows through the atmosphere, the spaceship's heat shield should deflect and absorb superheated plasma that can reach 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
"It felt like we were inside of an animal,"
Behnken said
of the Crew Dragon's 17,500 mph dive.
If all goes well, the capsule will deploy its parachutes and gently splash into the ocean.
SpaceX's Demo-2 mission splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on August 2, 2020.
Bill Ingalls/NASA
SpaceX and NASA are targeting either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's coast or for the Crew-1 splashdown.
Once the Crew Dragon capsule is bobbing in the water, recovery boats will drive out to greet them.
The SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship lifts the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour out of the Gulf of Mexico, August 2, 2020.
Bill Ingalls/NASA
Following Behnken and Hurley's splashdown in August, hordes of onlookers in motorboats swarmed the capsule, alarming mission managers and the US Coast Guard.
"Numerous boaters ignored the Coast Guard crews' requests and decided to encroach the area, putting themselves and those involved in the operation in potential danger," the Coast Guard
said in a statement to CBS
on August 2.
Bridenstine pledged that NASA would "do a better job" of clearing boats for future water landings, including Crew-1's.
Crew-1 is the fruit of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which the Obama administration funded in 2010 to restore the agency's human spaceflight capabilities through partnerships with companies.
From left: SpaceX founder Elon Musk, astronauts Victor Glover, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and astronaut Mike Hopkins inside the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A.
Joel Kowsky/NASA
The government has spent more than $6 billion toward the effort, according to
The Planetary Society
.
Since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA had been relying on Russian Soyuz rockets to transport its astronauts.
A Soyuz rocket launches with an astronaut crew bound for the ISS, from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, April 9, 2020.
Roscosmos via Reuters
Soyuz has been the only option for the world's space agencies for nearly a decade. NASA opted to fund commercial spaceflight programs in order to provide more alternatives.
What's more, Soyuz has gotten increasingly expensive. One seat can cost
up to $90 million
. A seat on Crew Dragon, meanwhile, is projected to cost $55 million (though that does not count the funding NASA dished out to develop the spaceship).
The Commercial Crew Program is also funding the development of a new spaceship from Boeing, the CST-100 Starliner.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner space capsule stands atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
NASA
The company has launched an uncrewed test mission of that capsule, but a
software error
caused a clock misalignment and the spaceship was unable to dock with the ISS.
Boeing
plans to launch
a follow-up, uncrewed Starliner demo in
early 2021
. Its first crewed flight won't happen
until later that year
.
Shuttling more NASA astronauts to the ISS will allow the US to do more research in space. "I think they're going to keep us pretty busy," Hopkins said during the press call.
Behnken conducts an experiment on water droplet formation in microgravity, testing a water-conserving showerhead technology in July, 2020.
NASA
"It's going to be exciting to see how much work we're going to be able to get done while we're there," Hopkins added.
But the space station might end up with more astronauts than it has bedrooms. So Hopkins might sleep inside the Crew Dragon capsule.
With the Crew-1 mission, SpaceX hopes to prove that its spaceflight capabilities rival those of government-led programs – further cementing its leadership in the industry.
Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, speaks during a news conference on January 19, 2020.
John Raoux/AP Photo
SpaceX leads the pack of commercial enterprises supported by NASA. The agency is shifting away from its role as mission controller to become a paying customer.
"NASA's partnership with American private industry is changing the arc of human spaceflight history," Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA,
said on Tuesday
. "We are truly in the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight."
This post has been updated with new information. It was originally published November 13, 2020. |
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# SpaceX just launched its longest and most ambitious NASA mission to date. Here's how the rest of the journey will go.
By [Dave Mosher](https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dave-mosher) , [Morgan McFall-Johnsen](https://www.businessinsider.com/author/morgan-mcfall-johnsen) , and [Susie Neilson](https://www.businessinsider.com/author/susie-neilson)
SpaceX's Crew-1 mission for NASA will fly (from left) astronauts Mike Hopkins, Soichi Noguchi, Shannon Walker, and Victor Glover to orbit aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship. SpaceX; NASA; Samantha Lee/Business Insider
2020-11-16T02:27:00.000Z
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- SpaceX's Crew-1 mission launched Sunday evening, rocketing four astronauts into orbit for a half-year spaceflight.
- The Crew Dragon spaceship is expected to dock to the International Space Station on Monday night.
- Crew-1 is the first full-length mission NASA has contracted from Elon Musk's rocket company. It's poised to be the longest-duration human spaceflight ever launched from US soil.
- Here's what to expect as SpaceX's [Crew Dragon](https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-certifies-spacex-fly-astronauts-crew-dragon-spaceship-2020-11) flies to the space station and back.
- [Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories](https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet).
SpaceX launched its most important NASA mission yet on Sunday: Elon Musk's rocket company catapulted four astronauts into Earth's orbit on its [Crew Dragon spaceship](https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-certifies-spacex-fly-astronauts-crew-dragon-spaceship-2020-11).
Crew-1, as the flight is called, will be SpaceX's first full-length mission for NASA. It's also the company's second time launching people and the longest-duration human space mission ever launched from US soil. The current record, 84 days, has held since the longest Skylab mission more than 45 years ago.
The spaceship is set to orbit Earth for about 27 hours before docking to the International Space Station. After that, the astronauts are expected to stay aboard the floating laboratory for about half a year.
"We are ready for this launch. We are ready for the six months of work that is waiting for us on board the International Space Station, and we are ready for the return," NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, who commands the mission, said during a pre-launch news conference.
[Hopkins' crew members](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-1-next-nasa-astronaut-mission-2020-8) are NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japanese Aerospace Agency astronaut [Soichi Noguchi.](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starship-dearmoon-crew-japanese-astronaut-soichi-noguchi-yusaku-maezawa-2020-9) Here's how their flight should play out and what to expect at each stage of the mission.
## On Sunday evening, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off with its Crew Dragon spaceship on top.
SpaceX and NASA's Crew-1 mission launches toward the International Space Station on November 15, 2020. [SpaceX/NASA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnChQbxLkkI)
The rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 7:27 p.m. ET.
## Glover is piloting the Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience, and Hopkins is the commander.
The Crew-1 astronauts, from left to right: Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi. SpaceX
Walker and Noguchi are mission specialists.
## This is Glover's first spaceflight. "I really look forward to every single bit of it," he told Business Insider. "Every time I do something in space, it will be the first time."
Victor Glover raises his hands after being selected by NASA to fly on the second crewed mission of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, August 3, 2018. David J. Phillip/AP
"I did not imagine that I would get to do what I'm doing," he added. "To be the pilot of this spacecraft is just such an honor and responsibility."
## The Crew-1 mission is the first of six round-trip astronaut flights that NASA has contracted from SpaceX.
From top left: Shannon Walker, Soichi Noguchi, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins pose with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Jim Bridenstine/NASA
The flights mark NASA's return to human spaceflight after the gap created when the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
## NASA officially certified SpaceX's launch system — including its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spaceship — after the completion of a two-day flight-readiness review.
The Crew-1 astronauts sit inside the Crew Dragon during training. From left: Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi. SpaceX via NASA
The launch system ticked off the last requirements to be fully certified for routine use by NASA astronauts — the first time a commercial system has received that recognition.
But the space company has been working on the launch system for nearly a decade, initially with no government funding. Its earliest Falcon 9 rocket prototype, known as Grasshopper, began test flights in 2012.
## On launch day, the astronauts suited up, said goodbye to their families, and drove to the launchpad in Teslas.
Left to right: Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Soichi Noguchi say goodbye to their families, November 15, 2020. [NASA/Kim Shiflett](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20201115-PH-KLS01_0221)
"I think my family is excited. And that's exciting for me, because my goal in this entire endeavor was to make sure that it continued to be a family adventure," Glover [said on a NASA podcast in October.](https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/crew-1-the-astronauts)
## They took an elevator up to the crew-access arm, then climbed into the Crew Dragon.
Soichi Noguchi and Victor Glover fist-bump before climbing into the Crew Dragon capsule, November 15, 2020. NASA TV
A team helped strap the crew members into their seats.
## Mission managers initially feared a launch delay after detecting a small leak during a test.
The launch-support team prepares to close the Crew Dragon hatch with the astronauts inside, November 15, 2020. NASA TV
But the workers solved the problem after finding and cleaning out a piece of debris.
## The astronauts waited for the rocket to be filled with fuel — perhaps the longest 35 minutes of their lives.
The Falcon 9 rocket is loaded with propellant for launch, November 15, 2020. NASA TV
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the first people to fly SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, said there's a distinct rumble once the rocket is full, Noguchi told reporters on Monday.
"I'm really anxious to feel that vibration," he said.
## Once fueled, the Falcon 9's Merlin engines roared to life, spewing fire and smoke, and heaved the rocket off the launchpad.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the Demo-2 mission, May 30, 2020. [NASA/Bill Ingalls](https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ202005300066)
Lift-off is instantaneous, meaning it [must occur at the precise second it's scheduled](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-instantaneous-launch-falcon-rocket-crew-dragon-space-station-weather-2020-5). Waiting any longer would allow the ultracold propellant to warm up, expand, and boil off — and fuel loss increases the risk of a dangerous rocket failure. So if there had been any delay, SpaceX would have been forced to try again another day.
## The force of the launch pressed the astronauts into their seats as the Falcon 9 spent the next nine minutes accelerating Crew Dragon to 17,500 mph.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launches the Crew Dragon with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley onboard, May 30, 2020. SpaceX via Getty Images
That's about 10 times as fast as a bullet, and the speed required to orbit (or endlessly freefall around) Earth at the space station's altitude.
## If there had been a major problem with the rocket en route to orbit, an escape system is designed to automatically pull Crew Dragon to safety.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship separates from an intentionally failing Falcon 9 rocket in a demonstration test on January 19, 2020. [SpaceX via Twitter](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1218976479150858241)
SpaceX [showed the system works](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-in-flight-abort-test-mission-2020-1) in January by launching a Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket that was programmed to fail and explode in mid-air. During the most strenuous part of the flight, the ship — empty save for a mannequin — [safely flew away from the doomed rocket](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-abort-test-success-elon-musk-nasa-2020-1).
## Once the Falcon 9 rocket booster expended most of its fuel, it detached from the upper stage and landed itself on a boat at sea.
The Falcon 9 booster lands on a ship after launching the Demo-2 mission into space, May 30, 2020. [SpaceX](https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/49965212542/)
That way, it can be reused to fly another day. The Crew Dragon, meanwhile, continued on to [low-Earth orbit](https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-moon-distance-edge-of-outer-space-2018-5).
## Now that they're orbit, the astronauts have 27 hours to roam the Crew Dragon's cabin.
Bob Behnken and "Tremor," the sequined dinosaur plushie that traveled aboard the Crew Dragon during the Demo-2 mission, May 30, 2020. [NASA TV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llbIzbOStt4)
They will also get some sleep for the big day ahead.
## Before their launch, the astronauts had been in Cape Canaveral since November 8, busy with pre-launch preparations.
The Crew-1 astronauts arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on November 8, 2020. [NASA/Kim Shiflett](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20201108-PH-KLS01_0289)
"The nerves start to really pile on as you get closer to launch," Hopkins said.
## The Crew Dragon arrived at the Kennedy Space Center three days before the astronauts. Then it was secured on top of the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Crew Dragon Resilience and its Falcon 9 rocket in the SpaceX hangar at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 9, 2020, [SpaceX](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20201109-PH-SPX01_0003)
The reusable, two-stage rocket is [230 feet tall](https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/) and weighs over 1.2 million pounds.
## The launch system was rolled onto the launchpad and lifted into a vertical position on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
The Resilience Crew Dragon capsule sits atop the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A on November 10, 2020. [SpaceX via Twitter](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1326188525281140736/photo/1)
The launchpad's crew access arm is where the astronauts climbed into the Crew Dragon.
## The astronauts and support teams carried out a dress rehearsal on Thursday.
Astronauts Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins (front), with Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi behind them, wear SpaceX spacesuits on their way to Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal, November 12, 2020. [Joel Kowsky/NASA](https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ202011120006)
Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi suited up and drove out to the launchpad to practice boarding the Crew Dragon.
## NASA and SpaceX convened on Friday to review everything before signing off on the launch. They decided to push liftoff back from Saturday, as originally scheduled, to Sunday.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks after the Crew Dragon in-flight abort test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, January 19, 2020. [Steve Nesius/Reuters](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2020%3Anewsml_HP1EG1J1DBD0Z&share=true)
Winds had made conditions unsuitable to get a crucial SpaceX boat out to sea on time. The boat is where the first-stage Falcon 9 booster lands after returning to Earth.
## After its stint in orbit, the Crew Dragon capsule should edge close to the ISS on Monday evening.
The Crew Dragon docks to the International Space Station, May 31, 2020. [Chris Cassidy](https://images.nasa.gov/details-iss063e021463)
SpaceX and NASA expect the Crew Dragon to perform a series of automated maneuvers to dock to the station around 11 p.m. ET on Monday.
## Kate Rubins, the NASA astronaut currently on the ISS, is waiting to greet the new crew.
NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins on the ISS. NASA
"I have some great friends flying on that vehicle, so I'm going to be pretty happy to open the hatch and welcome them to the space station," she told Business Insider.
Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will also welcome Crew-1 to the football-field-size laboratory.
## The new arrivals will live and work on the station for a full rotation of about six months. The Crew Dragon will stay docked the entire time.
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley float into the International Space Station on May 31, 2020, after riding SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the orbiting laboratory. [NASA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg)
That will make Crew-1 the longest human spaceflight the US has ever launched. Russia's Soyuz missions have regularly achieved such mission durations for decades.
Behnken and Hurley, by contrast, only stayed for two months, since their SpaceX mission was a demonstration. But new upgrades will allow the Crew Dragon to stay in orbit for up to 210 days without its solar panels degrading in the harsh environment of space.
## Eventually, the Crew-1 astronauts will climb back inside the Crew Dragon then return to Earth.
An illustration of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship returning to Earth with a blaze of plasma ahead of its heat shield. [SpaceX via YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZlzYzyREAI)
As it plows through the atmosphere, the spaceship's heat shield should deflect and absorb superheated plasma that can reach 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
"It felt like we were inside of an animal," [Behnken said](https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-describes-fiery-plunge-in-spacex-crew-dragon-2020-8#:~:text=The%20NASA%20astronauts%20Bob%20Behnken%20and%20Doug%20Hurley%20plunged%20through,the%20coast%20of%20Pensacola%2C%20Florida.&text=Though%20they%20were%20pleased%20with,were%20inside%20of%20an%20animal.%22) of the Crew Dragon's 17,500 mph dive.
## If all goes well, the capsule will deploy its parachutes and gently splash into the ocean.
SpaceX's Demo-2 mission splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on August 2, 2020. [Bill Ingalls/NASA](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/50182331362/)
SpaceX and NASA are targeting either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's coast or for the Crew-1 splashdown.
## Once the Crew Dragon capsule is bobbing in the water, recovery boats will drive out to greet them.
The SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship lifts the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour out of the Gulf of Mexico, August 2, 2020. [Bill Ingalls/NASA](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/50182062843/in/photostream/)
Following Behnken and Hurley's splashdown in August, hordes of onlookers in motorboats swarmed the capsule, alarming mission managers and the US Coast Guard.
"Numerous boaters ignored the Coast Guard crews' requests and decided to encroach the area, putting themselves and those involved in the operation in potential danger," the Coast Guard [said in a statement to CBS](https://twitter.com/MilesDoran/status/1290082383002087424) on August 2.
Bridenstine pledged that NASA would "do a better job" of clearing boats for future water landings, including Crew-1's.
## Crew-1 is the fruit of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which the Obama administration funded in 2010 to restore the agency's human spaceflight capabilities through partnerships with companies.
From left: SpaceX founder Elon Musk, astronauts Victor Glover, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and astronaut Mike Hopkins inside the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A. [Joel Kowsky/NASA](https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ201903010018)
The government has spent more than \$6 billion toward the effort, according to [The Planetary Society](https://www.planetary.org/articles/nasas-commercial-crew-is-a-great-deal-for-the-agency).
## Since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA had been relying on Russian Soyuz rockets to transport its astronauts.
A Soyuz rocket launches with an astronaut crew bound for the ISS, from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, April 9, 2020. [Roscosmos via Reuters](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2020%3Anewsml_RC201G91WVTY&share=true)
Soyuz has been the only option for the world's space agencies for nearly a decade. NASA opted to fund commercial spaceflight programs in order to provide more alternatives.
What's more, Soyuz has gotten increasingly expensive. One seat can cost [up to \$90 million](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-spacex-astronaut-launch-nasa-is-important-2020-5). A seat on Crew Dragon, meanwhile, is projected to cost \$55 million (though that does not count the funding NASA dished out to develop the spaceship).
## The Commercial Crew Program is also funding the development of a new spaceship from Boeing, the CST-100 Starliner.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner space capsule stands atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida. [NASA](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/49239427826/)
The company has launched an uncrewed test mission of that capsule, but a [software error](https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-cst-100-starliner-spaceship-orbital-flight-test-mission-rescue-2019-12) caused a clock misalignment and the spaceship was unable to dock with the ISS.
Boeing [plans to launch](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boeing-s-starliner-makes-progress-ahead-of-flight-test-with-astronauts) a follow-up, uncrewed Starliner demo in [early 2021](https://www.space.com/boeing-orbital-flight-test-2-early-2021-launch). Its first crewed flight won't happen [until later that year](https://spacenews.com/nasa-safety-panel-raises-doubts-about-starliner-test-flight-schedule/).
## Shuttling more NASA astronauts to the ISS will allow the US to do more research in space. "I think they're going to keep us pretty busy," Hopkins said during the press call.
Behnken conducts an experiment on water droplet formation in microgravity, testing a water-conserving showerhead technology in July, 2020. [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/behnken-hurley-science-scrapbook)
"It's going to be exciting to see how much work we're going to be able to get done while we're there," Hopkins added.
But the space station might end up with more astronauts than it has bedrooms. So Hopkins might sleep inside the Crew Dragon capsule.
## With the Crew-1 mission, SpaceX hopes to prove that its spaceflight capabilities rival those of government-led programs – further cementing its leadership in the industry.
Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, speaks during a news conference on January 19, 2020. [John Raoux/AP Photo](http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/SpaceX-Capsule-Test/03681a23a1f047cea2221075fc288307/1/0)
SpaceX leads the pack of commercial enterprises supported by NASA. The agency is shifting away from its role as mission controller to become a paying customer.
"NASA's partnership with American private industry is changing the arc of human spaceflight history," Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA, [said on Tuesday](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-and-spacex-complete-certification-of-first-human-rated-commercial-space-system). "We are truly in the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight."
*This post has been updated with new information. It was originally published November 13, 2020.*
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| Readable Markdown | SpaceX launched its most important NASA mission yet on Sunday: Elon Musk's rocket company catapulted four astronauts into Earth's orbit on its [Crew Dragon spaceship](https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-certifies-spacex-fly-astronauts-crew-dragon-spaceship-2020-11).
Crew-1, as the flight is called, will be SpaceX's first full-length mission for NASA. It's also the company's second time launching people and the longest-duration human space mission ever launched from US soil. The current record, 84 days, has held since the longest Skylab mission more than 45 years ago.
The spaceship is set to orbit Earth for about 27 hours before docking to the International Space Station. After that, the astronauts are expected to stay aboard the floating laboratory for about half a year.
"We are ready for this launch. We are ready for the six months of work that is waiting for us on board the International Space Station, and we are ready for the return," NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, who commands the mission, said during a pre-launch news conference.
[Hopkins' crew members](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-1-next-nasa-astronaut-mission-2020-8) are NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japanese Aerospace Agency astronaut [Soichi Noguchi.](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starship-dearmoon-crew-japanese-astronaut-soichi-noguchi-yusaku-maezawa-2020-9) Here's how their flight should play out and what to expect at each stage of the mission.
## On Sunday evening, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasted off with its Crew Dragon spaceship on top.
SpaceX and NASA's Crew-1 mission launches toward the International Space Station on November 15, 2020. [SpaceX/NASA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnChQbxLkkI)
The rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 7:27 p.m. ET.
## Glover is piloting the Crew Dragon capsule, named Resilience, and Hopkins is the commander.
The Crew-1 astronauts, from left to right: Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi. SpaceX
Walker and Noguchi are mission specialists.
## This is Glover's first spaceflight. "I really look forward to every single bit of it," he told Business Insider. "Every time I do something in space, it will be the first time."
Victor Glover raises his hands after being selected by NASA to fly on the second crewed mission of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, August 3, 2018. David J. Phillip/AP
"I did not imagine that I would get to do what I'm doing," he added. "To be the pilot of this spacecraft is just such an honor and responsibility."
## The Crew-1 mission is the first of six round-trip astronaut flights that NASA has contracted from SpaceX.
From top left: Shannon Walker, Soichi Noguchi, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins pose with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Jim Bridenstine/NASA
The flights mark NASA's return to human spaceflight after the gap created when the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
## NASA officially certified SpaceX's launch system — including its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spaceship — after the completion of a two-day flight-readiness review.
The Crew-1 astronauts sit inside the Crew Dragon during training. From left: Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi. SpaceX via NASA
The launch system ticked off the last requirements to be fully certified for routine use by NASA astronauts — the first time a commercial system has received that recognition.
But the space company has been working on the launch system for nearly a decade, initially with no government funding. Its earliest Falcon 9 rocket prototype, known as Grasshopper, began test flights in 2012.
## On launch day, the astronauts suited up, said goodbye to their families, and drove to the launchpad in Teslas.
Left to right: Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Soichi Noguchi say goodbye to their families, November 15, 2020. [NASA/Kim Shiflett](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20201115-PH-KLS01_0221)
"I think my family is excited. And that's exciting for me, because my goal in this entire endeavor was to make sure that it continued to be a family adventure," Glover [said on a NASA podcast in October.](https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/crew-1-the-astronauts)
## They took an elevator up to the crew-access arm, then climbed into the Crew Dragon.
Soichi Noguchi and Victor Glover fist-bump before climbing into the Crew Dragon capsule, November 15, 2020. NASA TV
A team helped strap the crew members into their seats.
## Mission managers initially feared a launch delay after detecting a small leak during a test.
The launch-support team prepares to close the Crew Dragon hatch with the astronauts inside, November 15, 2020. NASA TV
But the workers solved the problem after finding and cleaning out a piece of debris.
## The astronauts waited for the rocket to be filled with fuel — perhaps the longest 35 minutes of their lives.
The Falcon 9 rocket is loaded with propellant for launch, November 15, 2020. NASA TV
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the first people to fly SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship, said there's a distinct rumble once the rocket is full, Noguchi told reporters on Monday.
"I'm really anxious to feel that vibration," he said.
## Once fueled, the Falcon 9's Merlin engines roared to life, spewing fire and smoke, and heaved the rocket off the launchpad.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the Demo-2 mission, May 30, 2020. [NASA/Bill Ingalls](https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ202005300066)
Lift-off is instantaneous, meaning it [must occur at the precise second it's scheduled](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-instantaneous-launch-falcon-rocket-crew-dragon-space-station-weather-2020-5). Waiting any longer would allow the ultracold propellant to warm up, expand, and boil off — and fuel loss increases the risk of a dangerous rocket failure. So if there had been any delay, SpaceX would have been forced to try again another day.
## The force of the launch pressed the astronauts into their seats as the Falcon 9 spent the next nine minutes accelerating Crew Dragon to 17,500 mph.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launches the Crew Dragon with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley onboard, May 30, 2020. SpaceX via Getty Images
That's about 10 times as fast as a bullet, and the speed required to orbit (or endlessly freefall around) Earth at the space station's altitude.
## If there had been a major problem with the rocket en route to orbit, an escape system is designed to automatically pull Crew Dragon to safety.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship separates from an intentionally failing Falcon 9 rocket in a demonstration test on January 19, 2020. [SpaceX via Twitter](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1218976479150858241)
SpaceX [showed the system works](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-in-flight-abort-test-mission-2020-1) in January by launching a Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket that was programmed to fail and explode in mid-air. During the most strenuous part of the flight, the ship — empty save for a mannequin — [safely flew away from the doomed rocket](https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-abort-test-success-elon-musk-nasa-2020-1).
## Once the Falcon 9 rocket booster expended most of its fuel, it detached from the upper stage and landed itself on a boat at sea.
The Falcon 9 booster lands on a ship after launching the Demo-2 mission into space, May 30, 2020. [SpaceX](https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacex/49965212542/)
That way, it can be reused to fly another day. The Crew Dragon, meanwhile, continued on to [low-Earth orbit](https://www.businessinsider.com/earth-moon-distance-edge-of-outer-space-2018-5).
## Now that they're orbit, the astronauts have 27 hours to roam the Crew Dragon's cabin.
Bob Behnken and "Tremor," the sequined dinosaur plushie that traveled aboard the Crew Dragon during the Demo-2 mission, May 30, 2020. [NASA TV](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llbIzbOStt4)
They will also get some sleep for the big day ahead.
## Before their launch, the astronauts had been in Cape Canaveral since November 8, busy with pre-launch preparations.
The Crew-1 astronauts arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on November 8, 2020. [NASA/Kim Shiflett](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20201108-PH-KLS01_0289)
"The nerves start to really pile on as you get closer to launch," Hopkins said.
## The Crew Dragon arrived at the Kennedy Space Center three days before the astronauts. Then it was secured on top of the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Crew Dragon Resilience and its Falcon 9 rocket in the SpaceX hangar at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 9, 2020, [SpaceX](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20201109-PH-SPX01_0003)
The reusable, two-stage rocket is [230 feet tall](https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-9/) and weighs over 1.2 million pounds.
## The launch system was rolled onto the launchpad and lifted into a vertical position on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
The Resilience Crew Dragon capsule sits atop the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A on November 10, 2020. [SpaceX via Twitter](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1326188525281140736/photo/1)
The launchpad's crew access arm is where the astronauts climbed into the Crew Dragon.
## The astronauts and support teams carried out a dress rehearsal on Thursday.
Astronauts Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins (front), with Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi behind them, wear SpaceX spacesuits on their way to Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal, November 12, 2020. [Joel Kowsky/NASA](https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ202011120006)
Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi suited up and drove out to the launchpad to practice boarding the Crew Dragon.
## NASA and SpaceX convened on Friday to review everything before signing off on the launch. They decided to push liftoff back from Saturday, as originally scheduled, to Sunday.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks after the Crew Dragon in-flight abort test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, January 19, 2020. [Steve Nesius/Reuters](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2020%3Anewsml_HP1EG1J1DBD0Z&share=true)
Winds had made conditions unsuitable to get a crucial SpaceX boat out to sea on time. The boat is where the first-stage Falcon 9 booster lands after returning to Earth.
## After its stint in orbit, the Crew Dragon capsule should edge close to the ISS on Monday evening.
The Crew Dragon docks to the International Space Station, May 31, 2020. [Chris Cassidy](https://images.nasa.gov/details-iss063e021463)
SpaceX and NASA expect the Crew Dragon to perform a series of automated maneuvers to dock to the station around 11 p.m. ET on Monday.
## Kate Rubins, the NASA astronaut currently on the ISS, is waiting to greet the new crew.
NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins on the ISS. NASA
"I have some great friends flying on that vehicle, so I'm going to be pretty happy to open the hatch and welcome them to the space station," she told Business Insider.
Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will also welcome Crew-1 to the football-field-size laboratory.
## The new arrivals will live and work on the station for a full rotation of about six months. The Crew Dragon will stay docked the entire time.
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley float into the International Space Station on May 31, 2020, after riding SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the orbiting laboratory. [NASA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg)
That will make Crew-1 the longest human spaceflight the US has ever launched. Russia's Soyuz missions have regularly achieved such mission durations for decades.
Behnken and Hurley, by contrast, only stayed for two months, since their SpaceX mission was a demonstration. But new upgrades will allow the Crew Dragon to stay in orbit for up to 210 days without its solar panels degrading in the harsh environment of space.
## Eventually, the Crew-1 astronauts will climb back inside the Crew Dragon then return to Earth.
An illustration of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship returning to Earth with a blaze of plasma ahead of its heat shield. [SpaceX via YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZlzYzyREAI)
As it plows through the atmosphere, the spaceship's heat shield should deflect and absorb superheated plasma that can reach 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
"It felt like we were inside of an animal," [Behnken said](https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-describes-fiery-plunge-in-spacex-crew-dragon-2020-8#:~:text=The%20NASA%20astronauts%20Bob%20Behnken%20and%20Doug%20Hurley%20plunged%20through,the%20coast%20of%20Pensacola%2C%20Florida.&text=Though%20they%20were%20pleased%20with,were%20inside%20of%20an%20animal.%22) of the Crew Dragon's 17,500 mph dive.
## If all goes well, the capsule will deploy its parachutes and gently splash into the ocean.
SpaceX's Demo-2 mission splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on August 2, 2020. [Bill Ingalls/NASA](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/50182331362/)
SpaceX and NASA are targeting either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's coast or for the Crew-1 splashdown.
## Once the Crew Dragon capsule is bobbing in the water, recovery boats will drive out to greet them.
The SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship lifts the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour out of the Gulf of Mexico, August 2, 2020. [Bill Ingalls/NASA](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/50182062843/in/photostream/)
Following Behnken and Hurley's splashdown in August, hordes of onlookers in motorboats swarmed the capsule, alarming mission managers and the US Coast Guard.
"Numerous boaters ignored the Coast Guard crews' requests and decided to encroach the area, putting themselves and those involved in the operation in potential danger," the Coast Guard [said in a statement to CBS](https://twitter.com/MilesDoran/status/1290082383002087424) on August 2.
Bridenstine pledged that NASA would "do a better job" of clearing boats for future water landings, including Crew-1's.
## Crew-1 is the fruit of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which the Obama administration funded in 2010 to restore the agency's human spaceflight capabilities through partnerships with companies.
From left: SpaceX founder Elon Musk, astronauts Victor Glover, Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and astronaut Mike Hopkins inside the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A. [Joel Kowsky/NASA](https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ201903010018)
The government has spent more than \$6 billion toward the effort, according to [The Planetary Society](https://www.planetary.org/articles/nasas-commercial-crew-is-a-great-deal-for-the-agency).
## Since the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA had been relying on Russian Soyuz rockets to transport its astronauts.
A Soyuz rocket launches with an astronaut crew bound for the ISS, from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, April 9, 2020. [Roscosmos via Reuters](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2020%3Anewsml_RC201G91WVTY&share=true)
Soyuz has been the only option for the world's space agencies for nearly a decade. NASA opted to fund commercial spaceflight programs in order to provide more alternatives.
What's more, Soyuz has gotten increasingly expensive. One seat can cost [up to \$90 million](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-spacex-astronaut-launch-nasa-is-important-2020-5). A seat on Crew Dragon, meanwhile, is projected to cost \$55 million (though that does not count the funding NASA dished out to develop the spaceship).
## The Commercial Crew Program is also funding the development of a new spaceship from Boeing, the CST-100 Starliner.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner space capsule stands atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida. [NASA](https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/49239427826/)
The company has launched an uncrewed test mission of that capsule, but a [software error](https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-cst-100-starliner-spaceship-orbital-flight-test-mission-rescue-2019-12) caused a clock misalignment and the spaceship was unable to dock with the ISS.
Boeing [plans to launch](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boeing-s-starliner-makes-progress-ahead-of-flight-test-with-astronauts) a follow-up, uncrewed Starliner demo in [early 2021](https://www.space.com/boeing-orbital-flight-test-2-early-2021-launch). Its first crewed flight won't happen [until later that year](https://spacenews.com/nasa-safety-panel-raises-doubts-about-starliner-test-flight-schedule/).
## Shuttling more NASA astronauts to the ISS will allow the US to do more research in space. "I think they're going to keep us pretty busy," Hopkins said during the press call.
Behnken conducts an experiment on water droplet formation in microgravity, testing a water-conserving showerhead technology in July, 2020. [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/behnken-hurley-science-scrapbook)
"It's going to be exciting to see how much work we're going to be able to get done while we're there," Hopkins added.
But the space station might end up with more astronauts than it has bedrooms. So Hopkins might sleep inside the Crew Dragon capsule.
## With the Crew-1 mission, SpaceX hopes to prove that its spaceflight capabilities rival those of government-led programs – further cementing its leadership in the industry.
Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, speaks during a news conference on January 19, 2020. [John Raoux/AP Photo](http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/SpaceX-Capsule-Test/03681a23a1f047cea2221075fc288307/1/0)
SpaceX leads the pack of commercial enterprises supported by NASA. The agency is shifting away from its role as mission controller to become a paying customer.
"NASA's partnership with American private industry is changing the arc of human spaceflight history," Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA, [said on Tuesday](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-and-spacex-complete-certification-of-first-human-rated-commercial-space-system). "We are truly in the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight."
*This post has been updated with new information. It was originally published November 13, 2020.* |
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