SHANNON WALKER

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts answered a few questions during Thursday’s press conference after returning to Earth.

The astronauts returned from the International Space Station after their spacecraft, Resilience, set a new record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. space capsule that carried a crew.

SpaceX has delivered four astronauts back to Earth, making the first U.S. crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.

A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts has departed the International Space Station and is aiming for a rare nighttime splashdown.

The Crew Dragon's return closes out a record four-flight campaign to replace the space station's seven-member crew.

SpaceX will attempt the first U.S. splashdown of returning astronauts in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot in 1968.

After six months in orbit, the four astronauts who make up the SpaceX Crew-1 mission are ready to head home.

Four space station astronauts now plan to splash down Saturday to close out an extended 166-day mission.

NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for this weekend's splashdown by four astronauts.

The second operational SpaceX crew mission arrived at the ISS early on Saturday morning, carrying four astronauts for a six month stay in space.

An American astronaut and two Russians have returned to Earth after six months aboard the International Space Station.

See photos of the astronauts and cosmonauts of International Space Station Expedition 64.

For the first time in history, a native Houstonian has taken command of the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/station">International Space Station</a>.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made a special call to the International Space Station (ISS) to celebrate Women's History Month and some of the ground-breaking work astronauts are doing in orbit. Video: VP Kamala Harris calls space station! Last month I spoke with Astronauts Dr. Shannon Walker and Dr. Kate Rubins aboard the International Space Station. pic.twitter.com/tQR5lK7JSYMarch 24, 2021 See more"Last month I spoke with Astronauts Dr. Shannon Walker and Dr. Kate Rubins aboard the International Space Station. In February she called the orbiting laboratory to congratulate NASA astronaut Victor Glover for becoming the first Black astronaut to fly a long-duration mission to the space station.

Although orbiting astronauts are safely isolated on the International Space Station, the coronavirus has still impacted spaceflyers, according to a conversation between NASA astronauts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "We did not want to bring anything up to the space station," she told Damon. To lower the odds of bringing COVID-19 to space, Walker her colleagues quarantined with their families for three weeks before launch. She told the CDC about a project to create a comprehensive microbial map of the space station, taking 1,000 swabs around the space. It will be illuminating to see how microbes adapt to the completely artificial environment of the space station, she said.

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship docked at the International Space Station Wednesday with a load of supplies. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship, which blasted off Monday from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan, has delivered water, propellant and other supplies to the orbiting outpost. The space station is now operated by NASA’s Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos’ Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship launched successfully Monday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off as scheduled at 9:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the station. The space outpost is now operated by NASA's Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos' Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

Astronauts on the International Space Station celebrated their SpaceX spacecraft reaching a milestone on Sunday (Feb. 7), by connecting with a former NASA astronaut who helped set the previous, long-standing record. View Deal"On our 84th day in space, Crew-1 extends the record for most days in space for a U.S. human space capsule," Glover wrote on Twitter . That record stood until June 6, 1995, when NASA astronaut Norm Thagard exceeded 84 days on board the former Russian space station Mir. SpaceX's Dragon "Resilience" is slated to return the Crew-1 astronauts to Earth in late March after about 160 days in flight. SpaceX designed Dragon to be capable of remaining docked to the space station for up to 210 days.

Shannon Walker is a NASA astronaut who served as a mission specialist on the Crew-1 SpaceX Crew Dragon mission in 2020 — the first operational, commercial crew to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) . NASA's Crew-1 astronauts pose for a photo as they prepare to head to Pad 39A for their SpaceX Crew Dragon launch on Nov. 15, 2020. They are (from left): NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The view of Earth from space as seen by the Crew-1 astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience. She was joined by NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

Even astronauts in space found a way to celebrate in their own unique way: a ball drop in zero gravity. In a video from the International Space Station on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31), five of the six astronauts living aboard the orbiting lab revealed what ringing in 2021 would look in in space. Related: Holidays in space: an astronaut photo albumFive Expedition 64 astronauts on the International Space Station celebrate 2021 by ringing in the New Year with a zero gravity ball drop. They are (clockwise from top left): NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi and NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Shannon Walker. "We hope this inspires you to celebrate in your own way," NASA astronaut Shannon Walker added just ahead of that final count.

Seven astronauts are celebrating the holiday season aboard the International Space Station, but that isn't stopping them from beaming some holiday cheer back to Earth. "Resilience" is also the name they gave to the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that launched four of the astronauts to the space station last month. Earlier this month, a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the ISS with new supplies — including Christmas gifts and fixings. The Federal Aviation Administration cleared Santa for the flight to space on Wednesday, granting him with a special commercial space license for a crewed mission to the ISS aboard his "StarSleigh-1 space capsule, powered by the Rudolph Rocket." "Let's face it, 2020 was a difficult year and we all could use some special holiday cheer that only Santa can deliver," said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.

Astronauts on the International Space Station are sending Christmas tidings to the people of Earth with a message of hope in a year challenged by a global pandemic. Related: NORAD tracks Santa Claus in trip to the International Space StationFive members of the Expedition 64 crew send a Christmas message to Earth from the International Space Station to celebrate the 2020 holiday. Clockwise from top left: NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, NASA astronauts Kate Rubins and Shannon Walker. Rubins said that the space station crew has added a contest to their Christmas break. The astronauts have decked the halls of the International Space Station with Christmas decorations made with items they found around the spacecraft.

In addition to celebrating Thanksgiving in orbit, Rubins recently took part in another American custom: she cast a vote in the 2020 presidential election (albeit, from space.) (Image credit: NASA)The four astronauts who speak after Rubins in the video are NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Mike Hopkins and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi. They arrived at the space station on Nov. 16, approximately 27 hours after the launch of the SpaceX and NASA mission, known as Crew-1. Sunlight reflects off the Atlantic Ocean in this image published by NASA Johnson Space Center on Nov. 23, 2020, just days before Thanksgiving. The image was taken from the International Space Station as it orbited Earth off the coast of the United States.

SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday night, just 27 hours after their launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night's launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring. It's the first time the space station has had seven long-term crew members all at once, which is expected to boost scientific output. There's energy up here,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived on a Russian Soyuz capsule a month ago. NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the space station from the U.S. following the 2011 retirement of the shuttle fleet, reducing America's costly reliance on Russian rockets.

The Crew-1 mission is commanded by NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins with fellow NASA astronaut Victor Glover as pilot. Space Station Spots Crew-1 Dragon SpaceX's Crew-1 Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience is seen from a distance of 200 kilometers in this zoomed-in view from the International Space Station on Nov. 16, 2020. Trump and Biden Hail SpaceX Launch President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have both issued statements via Twitter on today's successful Crew-1 astronaut launch by SpaceX. Astronauts entering Crew Dragon The Crew-1 astronauts have begun entering their Crew Dragon ‘Resilience’ spacecraft. Crew-1 astronauts arrive at launch site The four-astronaut crew of SpaceX's Crew-1 mission for NASA have arrived at their Kennedy Space Center launch site for their planned Nov. 14 launch to the International Space Station.

This screenshot shows the welcome ceremony for SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts (bottom, from left) Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi, who arrived at the International Space Station on the night of Nov. 16, 2020. Crew-1, SpaceX's first operational mission to the International Station Station (ISS) for NASA, arrived at the orbiting lab late Monday night (Nov. 16), 27 hours after launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket. "This mission was a dream," NASA human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders said during a news conference early Tuesday morning (Nov. 17). "It was a dream of us to be able to one day … have crew transportation services to the International Space Station. The first, the Demo-2 test mission , carried NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the station for a two-month stay this past summer.

While en route to the International Space Station, the four astronauts of NASA's Crew-1 mission — along with special passenger Baby Yoda — showed viewers around their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA TV) Image 2 of 5 NASA astronaut Shannon Walker describes life inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon while a Baby Yoda toy floats nearby during a Crew-1 video tour on Nov. 16, 2020. (Image credit: NASA TV) Image 3 of 5 Baby Yoda floats on as Japanese Aerospace Exploration Astronaut Soichi Noguchi (partially visible at top) shows off the roomy storage area on SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience. (Image credit: NASA TV) Image 5 of 5 NASA astronaut Victor Glover shows off his gold astronaut pin in space. You can watch SpaceX's Crew-1 flight for NASA live here , courtesy of NASA TV.

In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. “Oh, what a good voice to hear,” space station astronaut Kate Rubins called out when the Dragon's commander, Mike Hopkins, first made radio contact. As they prepared for the space station linkup, the Dragon crew beamed down live window views of New Zealand and a brilliant blue, cloud-streaked Pacific 250 miles below.

The three Americans and one Japanese should reach the International Space Station late Monday for a five- to six-month stay, following Sunday's liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A brief look at each:—Crew commander Mike Hopkins, 51, is an Air Force colonel and former space station resident who grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Missouri. He played football for the University of Illinois and, before becoming an astronaut in 2009, worked at the Pentagon. —Shannon Walker, 55, a Houston-born-and-raised physicist, also has lived before on the space station. She worked as a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and then behind the scenes in the space station program, before becoming an astronaut in 2004.

It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I didn’t start breathing until about a minute after it took off,” Pence said during a stop at SpaceX Launch Control to congratulate the workers. The first-stage booster is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch. NASA turned to private companies to haul cargo and crew to the space station, after the shuttle fleet retired in 2011.

The company plans to reuse the booster for the next Crew Dragon flight. How to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon launchWhat: NASA launches four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space StationNASA launches four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space Station Date: Sunday, November 15, 2020Sunday, November 15, 2020 Time: Live coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. Glover, the first African American astronaut to join a long-duration space station crew, is making his first space flight. Left to right: NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Japan's Soichi Noguchi arrive at Kennedy Space Station to prepare for launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. SpaceX test fired the engines in the Crew-1 Falcon 9's first stage on Wednesday and no problems were seen.

Lighting up the night sky, four astronauts shot into orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Sunday for a 27-hour voyage to the International Space Station in the first operational flight of a commercially developed Crew Dragon capsule. Looking on from left are SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, seen waving back to Noguchi. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 16, 2020At the moment of launch, the station was sailing 259 miles above northern Syria. He is the first African American to be assigned to a full-duration station crew. Standing by to welcome the Crew-1 astronauts aboard the station will be Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins.

Lighting up the night sky, four astronauts shot into orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Sunday for a 27-hour voyage to the International Space Station in the first operational flight of a commercially developed Crew Dragon capsule. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 16, 2020At the moment of launch, the station was sailing 259 miles above northern Syria. He is the first African American to be assigned to a full-duration station crew. Standing by to welcome the Crew-1 astronauts aboard the station will be Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. NASA/Joel KowskySince 2006, NASA has spent $4 billion buying some 71 seats aboard Soyuz spacecraft to carry U.S., European, Canadian and Japanese astronauts to and from the station.

Four astronauts are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on Sunday (Nov. 15) for the first operational commercial crew flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, a mission called Crew-1. Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASARelated: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut mission in photosMike Hopkins (NASA)NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, Expedition 38 flight engineer, holds a Thanksgiving meal in the Unity node of the International Space Station. Prior to NASA, Hopkins tested advanced space system technologies and several aircraft (C-17 and C-30 airplanes, for example). Noguchi's first mission was the STS-114 "return to flight" space shuttle mission in 2005, which took place after the fatal Columbia disaster in 2003. "At that time, we [didn't] have any Japanese manned space program, there was no Japanese astronaut.

The company plans to reuse the booster for the next Crew Dragon flight. How to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon launchWhat: NASA launches 4 astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space StationNASA launches 4 astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space Station Date: Sunday, November 15, 2020Sunday, November 15, 2020 Time: Live coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. EST. Glover, the first African American astronaut to join a long-duration space station crew, is making his first space flight. Left to right: NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Japan's Soichi Noguchi arrive at Kennedy Space Station to prepare for launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. SpaceX test fired the engines in the Crew-1 Falcon 9's first stage on Wednesday and no problems were seen.

The company plans to reuse the booster for the next Crew Dragon flight. How to watch the SpaceX Crew Dragon launchWhat: NASA launches 4 astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space StationNASA launches 4 astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon on a mission to the International Space Station Date: Sunday, November 15, 2020Sunday, November 15, 2020 Time: Live coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. EST. Glover, the first African American to join a long-duration space station crew, is making his first space flight. Left to right: NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Japan's Soichi Noguchi arrive at Kennedy Space Station to prepare for launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. SpaceX test fired the engines in the Crew-1 Falcon 9's first stage on Wednesday and no problems were seen.

NASA is all set for its first operational commercial crew mission with SpaceX, and will celebrate by broadcasting numerous events for the launch, dubbed Crew-1 . Crew-1 will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), one more than the standard three-person crew of a Russian Soyuz. Participating Crew-1 astronauts are Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins (NASA), pilot Victor Glover (NASA), mission specialist Shannon Walker (NASA) and mission specialist Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASACrew-1 follows on from the shorter, successful Demo-2 mission that launched in May to the space station with two NASA astronauts, demonstrating that a SpaceX Crew Dragon could safely ferry people to space. Blast-off for Crew-1 is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday (Nov. 14) (0049 GMT Sunday, Nov. 15) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A crew of four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday (Nov. 8) in advance of SpaceX's second astronaut launch for NASA this week. Their mission, called Crew-1 , will see a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on an 8.5-hour trip to the International Space Station. Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASAThe four astronauts of NASA's Crew-1 mission launching on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket smile after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida Nov. 8, 2020 for their upcoming launch. The Crew-1 astronauts will join them on Nov. 15, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX's Crew-1 Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch the first operational commercial crew flight for NASA on Nov. 14, 2020.

For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station, with private companies providing the lifts. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours. “Every time there’s a Dragon launch, there will be two Dragons in space,” said Reed, director of crew mission management. NASA turned to private companies for space station deliveries — cargo, then crew — following the shuttle fleet's retirement in 2011. They will join two Russians and one American who arrived at the space station last month from Kazakhstan.

SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronauts — NASA's Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi — pose in front of their Dragon capsule, "Resilience," at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. SpaceX's first operational astronaut launch for NASA is just nine days away, and the agency is inviting the public to go along for the historic ride. The Crew-1 mission is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on the evening of Nov. 14. SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut mission: Live updates"Members of the public can attend the launch virtually, receiving mission updates and opportunities normally reserved for on-site guests," NASA officials wrote in a statement on Tuesday (Nov. 3). Crew-1 will be SpaceX's second astronaut mission to the space station, after the Demo-2 test flight , which launched on May 30 of this year.

NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will fly on the Crew-1 mission, currently scheduled to launch on Nov. 14, 2020. SpaceX is gearing up for another historic astronaut launch next month. The private spaceflight company is planning to send four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Nov. 14, the agency announced Monday (Oct. 26). Called Crew-1, the mission will be the first operational flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon astronaut taxi and the second Crew Dragon mission to carry passengers on board. SpaceX's Crew-1 Crew Dragon space capsule is seen nearly complete at the company's Hawthorne, California facility.

This is a new era of operational flights to the International Space Station from the Florida coast. It's really amazing this is marking the start of operational crew rotation missions to the International Space Station. NASARubins used NASA's last currently contracted Soyuz seat as the agency transitions to commercial crew rotation missions using SpaceX Crew Dragon and, eventually, Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsules. "So we'll have five people on the USOS side as we call our half of the space station. The expanded, seven-member crew of the International Space Station: Crew Dragon astronauts, front row, left to right): Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

In this June 18, 2020 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and support personnel review the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, in Houston. The new device is scheduled to be delivered to the International Space Station on Oct. 1, 2020. Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. To better accommodate women, NASA tilted the seat on the new toilet and made it taller. The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was in the early 1990s to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.

American astronauts will vote from space in the upcoming presidential election after launching to the International Space Station aboard a historic SpaceX mission for NASA. "All of us are planning on voting from space ," Walker told reporters in a news conference today (Sept. 29) about the NASA astronauts headed to the space station. "I can talk about casting a ballot from space since I did it last time I was on the space station," she said. This is not the first time that astronauts have voted from space, as it is a fairly regular occurrence when astronauts have been on the space station during an election. Crew-1 follows the successful launch and return of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley as part of SpaceX's Demo-2 mission.

We'll have to wait a bit longer for SpaceX's first operational crewed mission to the International Space Station to get off the ground. The target launch date for that flight, known as Crew-1 , has been pushed from Oct. 23 to early Halloween morning (Oct. 31), NASA officials announced Monday (Sept. 28). Related: SpaceX's historic Demo-2 crewed test flight in photosThat Soyuz launch, scheduled for Oct. 14, will send NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov to the orbiting lab. The delay will also give space station managers more time to investigate the lab's small air leak , and possibly pinpoint its source, NASA officials added. The leak does not pose a threat to space station crewmembers, the agency has stressed.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Demo-2 mission at Floridas Space Coast on Feb. 13, 2020. NASA astronaut Shannon Walker and Japanese spaceflyer Soichi Noguchi will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft on that voyage, officials announced today (March 31). Video: Watch SpaceX's Demo-2 Crew Dragon spin in a critical prelaunch testImage 1 of 3 NASA astronaut Shannon Walker looks at Earth from the International Space Station in November 2010. (Image credit: NASA) Image 3 of 3 NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins will fly on the first operational SpaceX Dragon mission. SpaceX holds a $2.6 billion NASA contract to fly six operational ISS missions with Crew Dragon and the company's Falcon 9 rocket.