SpaceX rocket lifts off with astronauts aboard, as Elon Musk remains in quarantine

Name: Lift-off for SpaceX rocket carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station
Uploaded: 2020-11-16T00:41:38.000Z
Duration: 58 s
Description: Lift-off for SpaceX rocket carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station

The launch marked only the second time in nearly a decade that astronauts were set to rocket into orbit from the US

Musk – who said on the eve of the launch that he ‘most likely’ contracted Covid-19 – was replaced in his official duties by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Crew Dragon capsule, is launched carrying four astronauts on November 15, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Associated Press

Published: 8:41am, 16 Nov 2020Updated: 8:47pm, 16 Nov 2020

SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for Nasa by a private company.

The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one Japanese, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX.

The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably Covid-19 – reached orbit nine minutes later. It is due to reach the space station late on Monday and remain there until spring.

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Lift-off for SpaceX rocket carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station

“By working together through these difficult times, you’ve inspired the nation, the world, and in no small part the name of this incredible vehicle, Resilience,” Commander Mike Hopkins said right before lift-off.

Once reaching orbit, he radioed: “That was one heck of a ride.”

Sidelined by the coronavirus himself, SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk was forced to monitor the action from afar. He tweeted that he “most likely” had a moderate case of Covid-19. Nasa policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated.

Sunday’s launch follows by just a few months SpaceX’s two-pilot test flight. It kicks off what Nasa hopes will be a long series of crew rotations between the United States and the space station, after years of delay. More people means more science research at the orbiting lab, according to officials.

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