SpaceX ‘ferry’ in orbit means we’ve entered a new space age

Welcome to a new and different space age: Elon Musk’s SpaceX transported four NASA astronauts to the International Space Station this week – and brought Baby Yoda for good measure.

Barely 27 hours after takeoff aboard the Falcon rocket from Kennedy Space Center, the Dragon capsule contacted the crew aboard the ISS. The passengers (three Americans and a Japanese astronaut) will spend six months aboard the ISS.

The team called Crew-1 named their race “Resilience” – a reference to all the challenges presented by 2020. A truly inspiring moment in a very trying year.

This launch was only the second time in about a decade that NASA astronauts have come into orbit from American soil. Since the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, NASA has had to rent seats from Russia.

But this mission marks the beginning of regular crew rotations that rely on private companies to transport astronauts into space.

Thanks to Musk, his SpaceX team, and NASA, America’s space program is truly back – and better than ever.