U.S. Manned Launches Are Back

April 17, 2020 – On May 27th, two veteran U.S. Astronauts will have the honor of once again launching into space aboard an American rocket from American soil. This target launch date is the first U.S. crewed mission since the retirement of Space Shuttle in 2011.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who have flown to space before on Space Shuttle missions, will man the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft when it launches into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

The Demo-2 mission will be the final major step before NASA’s Commercial Crew Program certifies Crew Dragon for operational, long-duration missions to the space station. This important preliminary work is a prelude to future exploration of the Moon and Mars, starting with the agency’s Artemis program, slated to land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface by 2024.