Astronauts make round trip to space station from U.S. soil (59 images)

SpaceX's first mission with NASA astronauts on board launched at 3:22 p.m. EDT May 30, 2020, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.This was the first crewed launch from U.S. soil since the space shuttle era ended in 2011. The Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked at the International Space Station the following day, delivering two American astronauts. The astronauts successfully returned to Earth on August 2.

Hurley (R) and Behnken don SpaceX spacesuits in the astronaut crew quarters during a dress rehearsal. Photo by Kim Shiflett/NASA

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The test, which did not have NASA astronauts aboard, demonstrated Crew Dragon's ability to reliably carry crew to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency on ascent. Photo courtesy of SpaceX

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket boosts the Crew Dragon spacecraft for NASA on a launch abort test from Complex 39A at Kennedy on January 19. SpaceX conducted the test as a final measure to assure safety for future crewed missions to the ISS. Photo by Joe Marino-Bill Cantrell/UPI

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