Cape Canaveral: SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company.
The Falcon rocket on Sunday thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one Japanese, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top named Resilience by its crew in light of this year's many challenges, most notably COVID-19 reached orbit nine minutes later. It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring.
"By working together through these difficult times, you've inspired the nation, the world, and in no small part the name of this incredible vehicle, Resilience," Commander Mike Hopkins said right before liftoff.
Once reaching orbit, he radioed: "That was one heck of a ride."
Sidelined by the Coronavirus himself, SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk was forced to monitor the action from afar. He tweeted that he "most likely" had a moderate case of COVID-19. NASA policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for Coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated.
Sunday's launch follows by just a few months SpaceX's two-pilot test flight.
It kicks off what NASA hopes will be a long series of crew rotations between the U.S. and the space station, after years of delay. More people means more science research at the orbiting lab, according to
officials.