NASA and SpaceX still targeting May for first crewed mission to space amid coronavirus pandemic

After six years of developing a new passenger spacecraft for NASA, SpaceX is finally on track to launch its very first crew to the International Space Station in mid-to-late May — but uncertainty surrounds the flight as the novel coronavirus pandemic worsens in the US. On Wednesday, NASA put out a call for press to cover the mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but if current restrictions remain in place over the next couple of months, changes will likely need to be made as the mission proceeds.

Despite the pandemic, the mission itself is set to be historic. The last time astronauts launched to orbit from the United States was July 8th, 2011 — the last flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle. Since then, NASA astronauts have relied on Russia’s...

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