KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: SpaceX launched its third crew to the International Space Station an hour before sunrise Friday, recycling a rocket and spacecraft for the first time.
The Crew-2 mission, which includes the first European, Thomas Pesquet of France, blasted off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:49 am Eastern Time (0949 GMT).
“We’re glad to be back in space,” said mission commander Shane Kimbrough of the United States. The Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, is now racing to catch up with the ISS, with docking due to take place at 5:10 am (0910 GMT) Saturday. The hatch will open two hours after that.
Earlier, the team said their final goodbyes to their families before boarding three white Teslas for the launchpad, a new tradition established by SpaceX. The cars’ license plates read “recycle,” “reuse,” and “reduce,” in a nod to the fact that both the Falcon 9 booster and Endeavour were deployed on previous missions.
Flying on used vehicles is a key cost-saving goal of NASA’s partnerships with private industry.
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