Spaceflight is inherently dangerous. From the earliest days of designing spacecraft for crews, engineers have looked for ways astronauts could be rescued in the event of a mishap involving the rocket. An American-developed option — a launch escape system, or escape tower – was copied by the Soviet Union and it saved the lives of two Russian cosmonauts.
When NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken lifted off from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020, it marked the beginning of a new era of human spaceflight. When they arrived at the International Space Station, they marked the milestone by capturing an American flag in a competition that started almost a decade earlier.
A new era of human spaceflight launched at 3:22 p.m. EDT on May 30, 2020 as American astronauts once again lifted off on an American rocket from American soil headed for the International Space Station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station the next day.