Astronauts Launch From U.S. Soil
A new chapter in U.S. space travel began this year, as SpaceX launched astronauts to the International Space Station on its Crew Dragon spacecraft. Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, NASA hasn’t had the ability to send astronauts to space from U.S. soil, instead paying Russia for seats on its Soyuz spacecraft. With November’s successful launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it’s now officially the dawn of NASA’s Commercial Crew era.
