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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-demo2-commercial-crew

Why was SpaceX's Demo-2 flight in May 2020 a big deal for NASA?

It was the first astronaut launch from U.S. soil since 2011.

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  1. It was the first flight to land on Mars
  2. It was the first US astronaut launch since the shuttle ended ✔
  3. It was the first flight around the Moon since Apollo

Why: After the shuttle retired in 2011, U.S. astronauts rode Russian rockets. On May 30, 2020, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley launched on a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Florida.

Huh, didn't know that: Hurley also flew on the very last shuttle mission, so he bookended the gap.

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Why did the dragon become an astronaut? It wanted to see the stars up close.
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References

Answer: It was the first US astronaut launch since the shuttle ended. After the shuttle retired in 2011, U.S. astronauts rode Russian rockets. On May 30, 2020, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley launched on a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Florida.

  1. NASA, NASA Astronauts Launch from America in Historic Test Flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-astronauts-launch-from-america-in-historic-test-flight-of-spacex-crew-dragon
    for the first time since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. NASA, Commercial Crew Program www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/commercial-crew-program
    safe, reliable, and cost-effective human transportation
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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