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SpaceX and Nasa launch LIVE: Astronauts blast into orbit aboard Crew Dragon spacecraft
NASA astronauts tested Elon Musk's SpaceX spacecraft today on the first crewed "all American" mission in nearly a decade.
A pair of space heroes blasted off to the International Space Station on board a SpaceX rocket today – in a bold mission fraught with risk.
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American space heroes Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley fired into orbit on May 30 aboard a spaceship built by California rocket firm SpaceX.
They face "an extended stay at the space station", according to Nasa.
The mission, dubbed Demo-2, was scheduled to launch on Wednesday but was pushed back to Saturday at the last minute due to bad weather.
Both Behnken, 49, and Hurley, 53, took part in extensive training ahead of the historic mission and have plenty of spaceflight experience.
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Born in St. Anne, Missouri, Behnken previously worked for the US Air Force before joining Nasa.
"Behnken will be the joint operations commander for the mission, responsible for activities such as rendezvous, docking and undocking, as well as Demo-2 activities while the spacecraft is docked to the space station," Nasa said.
"He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 and has completed two space shuttle flights."
Fellow crewman Hurley was born in New York and was previously a fighter pilot for the US Marine Corps.
"Hurley will be the spacecraft commander for Demo-2, responsible for activities such as launch, landing and recovery," Nasa said.
"He was selected as an astronaut in 2000 and has completed two spaceflights."
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They were ferried to the spacecraft on its launchpad in Florida inside a Tesla Model X electric car sporting the Nasa logo.
That's because billionaire SpaceX boss Elon Musk is also CEO of Tesla.
Hurley and Behnken took a special elevator up 230ft to a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule atop the awaiting rocket.
The mission, dubbed Demo-2, lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 8:23pm BST (3:23 pm ET) on May 30.
When the countdown hit zero, the rocket blasted into space – carrying astronauts into orbit from US soil for the first time since 2011.
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Once in orbit, the Crew Dragon capsule carrying Hurley and Behnken separated from the rocket booster.
As is customary for SpaceX flights, the booster turned around and return to Earth so it could be refurbished and used on a future mission.
"Crew Dragon will accelerate its two passengers to approximately 17,000 mph and put it on an intercept course with the International Space Station," Nasa said ahead of the launch.
"Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will verify the spacecraft is performing as intended by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system and the maneuvering thrusters, among other things."
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About 19 hours after launch, Crew Dragon will be in position to dock with the space station.
It can do this automatically but astronauts have the option to take control themselves if something goes wrong.
"After successfully docking, Behnken and Hurley will be welcomed aboard station and will become members of the Expedition 63 crew," Nasa continued.
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"They will perform tests on Crew Dragon in addition to conducting research and other tasks with the space station crew."
The Crew Dragon capsule will remain docked on the ISS until it's needed to take astronauts back to Earth.
Nasa has not yet selected a date for the return flight.
Why did Nasa cancel Wednesday's flight?
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SpaceX crew mission chief Benji Reed warned the mission could be cancelled at the last minute.
And sadly this turned out to be the case, with the launch binned due to bad weather and a high chance of lightning.
a tornado warning was issued a stone's throw away from where the rocket was scheduled to leave.
"I would expect there to be a very high chance of scrub due to the weather," Reed told last week.
"And given the time of year, it wouldn't surprise me as well."
Human spaceflights are far riskier than cargo-only trips, so weather conditions need to be perfect.
Clear skies and low winds are optimal for a successful launch – and even an emergency "mission abort" requires good weather for a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
Nasa keeps track of more than 50 locations across the ocean to ensure a splashdown can be safely performed.
SpaceX said on Tuesday that the weather forecast for launch was "60 per cent favourable."
Following Wednesday's cancellation, Nasa boss Jim Bridenstine said the rocket could have triggered lightning if it had lifted off.
He said that there was "too much electricity in the atmosphere".
"There wasn't really a lightning storm or anything like that," Bridenstine explained.
"But there was concern that if we did launch, it could actually trigger lightning."
Nasa and SpaceX prepare to return human spaceflight to American soil after nearly a decade
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In other news, read our complete guide to the Nasa SpaceX crewed launch.
Here's an easy explainer on how to watch the SpaceX launch live.
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