During the week, SpaceX became the first private company with an operational system to launch NASA astronauts to space and back. The Crew-1 mission is the first launch with a full crew.

This is the second manned crew SpaceX has launched. Back in May, SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon to the ISS with Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley along for the ride. After a couple of months, the two NASA astronauts returned home in August.

Crew Dragon took off at 7:27 pm EST with the Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The NASA astronauts who are aboard “Resilience” are Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, and Micheal Hopkins. The fourth astronaut on board is from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soichi Noguchi. The plan, according to The Verge, is for the crew to spend a day in space and then have the capsule dock autonomously onto the ISS without the crew’s help.

After the successful launch, Elon Musk tweeted out, of course, a heart emoji:

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 16, 2020

President-Elect, Joe Biden, congratulated SpaceX and NASA, calling it a “testament to the power of science.”

Congratulations to NASA and SpaceX on today’s launch. It’s a testament to the power of science and what we can accomplish by harnessing our innovation, ingenuity, and determination. I join all Americans and the people of Japan in wishing the astronauts Godspeed on their journey.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 16, 2020

President Donald Trump called it “great” and that NASA was a “closed up disaster” when his administration took over and that it has now returned to the “hottest” and most advanced space center in the world.

A great launch! @NASA was a closed up disaster when we took over. Now it is again the “hottest”, most advanced, space center in the world, by far! https://t.co/CDCGdO74Yb

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020

More is yet to come. Tomorrow at 11:00 pm ~ EST, the Crew-1 capsule will perform an autonomous dock to the ISS.

You can watch the live stream on SpaceX’s website, Youtube channel, and NASA’s youtube channel.