NASA sets date for SpaceXs first passenger flight on Crew Dragon

NASA and SpaceX are now targeting May 27th for the first crewed flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon — a newly developed vehicle designed to take astronauts to the International Space Station. The demonstration mission, which will carry two NASA astronauts to orbit, will mark the first time people have launched from American soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.

This flight has been in the making for years, ever since NASA selected SpaceX and rival Boeing to develop new spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS as part of the Commercial Crew Program. SpaceX has been transforming its Dragon cargo capsule —which has been taking supplies to the ISS for years — into a vehicle that can carry people. After six years of...

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