SpaceX teams with NASA on its first crewed spacecraft trip to the ISS

By Georgina Torbet Published March 2, 2019

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is rolled onto the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Joel Kowsky

In a joint project between NASA and SpaceX, the Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched before dawn today. The craft will be traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) with supplies for the ISS crew and a dummy passenger to test the safety of eventually ferrying real passengers. This was SpaceX’s first launch of a crewed spaceship, and the launch was such a success that it almost brought CEO Elon Musk to tears.

Recommended Videos

The launch was not only important for SpaceX but also for the American space program. Fewer manned spacecraft missions have taken off from American locations in recent years as launch sites near the equator are more efficient, but this launch took place from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

“This mission is an important step in returning human spaceflight to American soil,” Steve Stich, NASA launch manager and deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. “SpaceX and NASA teams are working side-by-side on this mission from start to finish as we have throughout this process. This flight test will inform the system design, operations and drive any changes that need to be made ahead of crew flights. We are ready to learn by flying.”

The launch used a Falcon 9 rocket and took off from Launch Complex 39A, overseen from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Control Center Firing Room 4. This is the same location which oversaw the countdown and liftoff of the most recent 15 space shuttle missions. The aim of the launch is to test whether the craft’s autonomous systems are able to maneuver correctly and to dock with the ISS when the craft arrives there.

All went smoothly in the launch which was a great relief to Musk. “I’m a little emotionally exhausted,” he said in a post-launch press conference. He also told space.com he was happy his company was making progress towards his ultimate aim of a manned spacecraft launch: “The whole goal of SpaceX was crewed spaceflight. Improved space exploration technologies,” he said. “That’s actually the full name of the company, Space Exploration Technologies.”

Georgina Torbet

Former Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Topics

Computing

Intelligent UI turns ChatGPT answers into interactive tools while GPT-6 rolls out to a broader audience

Plain text answers just got a very interactive rival.

Intelligent UI in ChatGPT.

Would you rather read instructions for splitting a dinner bill or tap a bill splitter and let it do the math? I'd pick the latter.

OpenAI's SOl-6 rollout, starting October 7, 2026, adds Intelligent UI. Basically, it lets the chatbot assemble interactive answers instead of replying in plain text.

Emerging Tech

Checking body medication levels may now be as easy as sucking on a peach-flavoured lollipop

Forget the clinic swab; this lollipop wants a lick

Lollylab

Checking your body’s medication levels is usually no one’s idea of fun. Now researchers are trying to change that with Lollylab, a candy-coated, lollipop-like device that can collect saliva and measure levels of acetaminophen in under two minutes.

The prototype created by researchers whose work was published in ACS Sensors transforms a familiar object into a miniature testing device. In a pilot study, six adults ingested the peach-flavored Lollylab before and one hour after a standard 650-milligram dose of acetaminophen. The device repeatedly detected the pain reliever in their saliva, and participants reported it was more comfortable and easier to use than traditional saliva swabs.

Phones

A US state just approved an AI doctor. For now, it’ll only prescribe acne cures.

Aside from acne, Nolla's AI can also handle redness, fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation and dark spots, and under-eye bags.

Nolla Derm AI doctor app.

The first AI doctor is here. Despite all the skepticism and risks associated with AI models going haywire, the state of Utah just approved Nolla Health, a company that is providing an AI healthcare expert capable of writing prescriptions without any human in the chain. For now, it will only write acne prescriptions for Utah residents over 18 years of age, willing to pay a token monthly subscription fee that's lighter than your Spotify bill.

The big push here is that the Nolla Derm app will reduce the costs of medical consultation, save users the hassle of clinic visits, and take out the problem of waitlisting from the entire healthcare equation. “Unlike telehealth platforms that use AI only to collect information before handing patients off to clinicians, Nolla's AI system is designed to independently issue initial prescriptions within tightly defined, physician-approved treatment protocols,” writes the company.