Astronauts Flying Reused SpaceX Rocket, Capsule for 1st Time

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, from left, and Megan McArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide during a dress rehearsal at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on April 18, 2021. SpaceX via AP

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—For the first time, NASA is putting its trust in a recycled SpaceX rocket and capsule for a crew.

Astronaut Megan McArthur takes special pleasure in the reused spacecraft set to soar Thursday morning. In “a fun twist,” she’ll sit in the same seat in the same capsule as her husband, Bob Behnken, did last spring for a test flight to the International Space Station.