NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley have made it aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and SpaceX can officially consider itself the first-ever company to send humans into orbit aboard a privately-owned spacecraft.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsules are now equipped to begin making regular trips to and from the space station. This will allow NASA to have more control over staffing the ISS, creating more opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and maintain operations.
But NASA’s ambitions extend far beyond the ISS, which orbits about 250 miles above Earth. NASA’s next major goal is to land boots on the moon by 2024.
And yes, SpaceX will be a part of this effort, too.
And SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is not stopping there. He has indicated that the company will pour significant resources into the development of a spaceship called Starship in the months and years ahead. Starship is at the core of SpaceX’s founding mission: to establish a colony of humans on Mars.
Technologically speaking, though, that milestone is likely still a long way away.
Nevertheless, following Saturday’s Crew Dragon launch, Musk reaffirmed his commitment to Mars. “I think this is, hopefully, the first step on a journey towards civilization on Mars,” he said.