NASA, SpaceX Launch American Astronauts Into Space, First Time Since 2011

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on schedule, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on May 30, 2020. NASA

NASA and SpaceX have completed a historic launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, marking the first time a private company has ever sent people into orbit and the first time in nearly a decade that a space-bound aircraft has taken off from U.S. soil.

The rocket lifted off on schedule at 3:22 p.m. ET, propelling the Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station on a test flight dubbed Demo-2.