CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The SpaceX rocket that will carry two astronauts from U.S. soil into orbit for the first time in nearly a decade is now sitting upright on a Florida launchpad.
The Falcon 9 rocket that is part of NASA’s Demo-2 mission was lifted into position on launchpad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. The Dragon Crew capsule that sits atop the rocket will carry astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station next week.
The pair are scheduled to blast off at 3:33 p.m. Central time Wednesday.
This will be the first manned launch of a spacecraft from the U.S. since the last shuttle was launched in July 2011.
This will also be the first time a private company has launched humans into space. The commercial crew program is meant to give NASA the ability to concentrate on deep space missions.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
