Skip to main content

SpaceX makes history after NASA certifies Crew Dragon for flight

NASA Certifies SpaceX Crew Transportation System for Regular Astronaut Flights to Space

NASA has officially certified the first commercial spacecraft system in history capable of carrying humans to and from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Recommended Videos

Tuesday’s certification confirmation comes just days before the Crew Dragon is due to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with four astronauts on board for a six-month stay at the space station.

The U.S. space agency said the Crew Dragon capsule, together with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and associated ground systems, is the first crew spacecraft to be NASA-certified for regular astronaut flights since the Space Shuttle almost 40 years ago.

Elon Musk, the man who founded SpaceX back in 2002 with the dream of creating a reusable rocket system for more cost-effective space travel, said his SpaceX team had worked “incredibly hard to develop, test, and fly the first commercial human spaceflight system in history to be certified by NASA,” adding that the achievement “inspires confidence in our endeavor to return to the moon, travel to Mars, and ultimately help humanity become multi-planetary.”

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said he felt proud that his team has been able to return regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft. “This certification milestone is an incredible achievement from NASA and SpaceX that highlights the progress we can make working together with commercial industry,” the NASA boss added.

The Crew Dragon, Falcon 9, and associated systems had to overcome a series of challenges to gain the certification, including uncrewed flight tests, parachute tests, simulations such as pad and mid-air abort tests to save the astronauts in the event of a critical anomaly, and NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight over the summer with astronauts Bob Behnken and Douglas Hurley.

Whereas NASA used to purchase, own, and operate all of its hardware for space travel, the launch of the Commercial Crew Program nearly a decade ago means the space agency is now a customer dealing with players in the American aerospace industry developing and operating next-generation spacecraft and launch systems for carrying astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will be the first flight to use the certified SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft when it lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, November 14. Find out more about how to watch the launch live.

Aboard the Crew Dragon will be NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, together with Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
SpaceX captures Starship booster for the first time in historic test
Mechazilla catching Starship booster stage.

SpaceX has scripted history with the fifth test of its massive Starship rocket system. The giant rocket launched from the Starbase site in South Texas earlier today, and following a brief trip to space, the reusable spacecraft made a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

But the more remarkable feat was the successful capture of the Super Heavy booster, a fully reusable first stage that stands at a towering 71 meters and draws power from 33 Raptor engines. Up till now, the boosters have splashed into the water (or got damaged), but this time, SpaceX managed to capture it using giant mechanical arms.

Read more
How to watch SpaceX’s fifth Starship test flight on Sunday
spacex starship fifth flight live stream 5 website desktop 1 12e2f537a0 jpg

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its mighty Starship on its fifth test flight, scheduled for Sunday, October 13. With a mostly-successful fourth test flight behind it, the Starship has already been into orbit and returned to Earth mostly intact. This time, SpaceX will be hoping to catch its Super Heavy booster as well as taking the upper stage Starship into orbit.

The exact date of this fifth test flight has been delayed due to issues with licensing from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but SpaceX has now confirmed it is targeting 8 a.m. ET (5 a.m. PT) Sunday for its test.

Read more
SpaceX could launch Starship on 5th test flight much earlier than expected
The world's most powerful rocket on the launchpad.

There’s growing expectation that SpaceX could launch the mighty Starship rocket as early as Sunday, October 13.

SpaceX was informed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month that it was unlikely to receive a launch permit until late November as the regulator needed time to complete work on its flight launch assessment.

Read more