SpaceX, the non-public firm based by billionaire Elon Musk, right this moment launched a rescue mission with two passengers on board, leaving two seats empty to return the American astronauts who’ve been stranded for months on the Worldwide Area Station, NASA mentioned.
The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It used a brand new launch pad, the pad’s first use for a crewed mission.
On board are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
“Congrats to @NASA and @SpaceX on a profitable launch,” NASA chief Invoice Nelson mentioned in a put up on X. “We dwell in an thrilling interval of exploration and innovation within the stars.”
After they return from the area station in February, they may convey again the 2 area veterans — Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams — whose keep on the ISS was extended for months by issues with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.
The newly developed Starliner was making its first crewed flight when it delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June.
The astronauts had been imagined to be there for less than an eight-day keep, however after issues with the Starliner’s propulsion system emerged through the flight there, NASA was compelled to weigh a radical change in plans.
