Trump to attend Florida launch of historic manned SpaceX flight
- The launch on Wednesday to the International Space Station is the first crewed space flight from the US in nine years
US President Donald Trump will attend the May 27 launch of two astronauts aboard a SpaceX mission – the first crewed space flight from US soil in nine years, the White House said Saturday.
“Our destiny, beyond the Earth, is not only a matter of national identity, but a matter of national security,” Trump said in a statement ahead of the visit, which will underline his push for a return to work in the US amid the coronavirus pandemic.
US astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are scheduled to blast off from Kennedy’s historic Launch Pad 39A at 4.33pm (2033 GMT) on Wednesday for the International Space Station, arriving the next day.
The mission is seen as a crucial step towards ending American dependence on Russian rockets.
Asked about going ahead with the mission in the midst of the pandemic, Behnken told reporters: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”