It has been almost one week sinceRobert BehnkenandDouglas Hurleylaunched into space! There are now 5 people on board the International Space Station. If you have never taken the opportunity to look for the ISS - it is really cool. And just think, you are watching something that is 230 miles above you, flying 5 miles per second! We have had some decent sightings of the ISS lately, but tonight will be the last chance to see it until at least June 16th.

The ISS will be visible once tonight at 9:53 pm for 4 minutes. The max height is not very high, at 25 degrees above the horizon, so it will be in the lower half of the sky.

It will appear at 9:53 pm in the western part of the sky at 17 degrees and move toward the south. It will set below the horizon in the southern part of the sky at 10 degrees above the horizon.

We have a chance for a few stray storms today, but that chance will be fading by this evening. Otherwise, it will be partly cloudy, warm and muggy!

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One More Chance to See the International Space Station! - WDRB

Id think that even casual dorks interested in humanitys actual space programs would be aware of the very first joint mission between two spacefaring countries: the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project of 1975, where an American Apollo spacecraft and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft docked in Earths orbit, allowing the crews to have a famous space handshake, work together, and try out one anothers food-in-tubes. What I didnt realize was that, initially, the mission was supposed to me much grander in scope, with the Americans visiting a Soviet space station.

I mean, there must have been some point where I did realize this, since I was reminded about it when I found a PDF on my computer called INTERNATIONAL RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING MISSION (SD 71-700) from December of 1971.

Ill be honestI have zero memory of ever seeing this document before, but, here it is, and its fascinating. I knew immediately what it had to be about when I saw the extraordinarily crappy and degraded title page image on the second page:

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I know its really hard to make out there, but space geeks will find plenty in this infinitely-Xeroxed picture to get excited about: its clearly an American Apollo command and service module (CSM) approaching, with some sort of docking mechanism, a Soviet Salyut space station.

Now, if we slide a bit deeper into geekdom, we can note that the Salyut space station appears to have solar panels in a formation that only appeared on one Soviet station, Salyut 1, and since this is from late 1971 and Salyut 1 was launched in April of 1971 and an updated version of Salyut didnt launch until 1973 (well, a military one that was differentthe closest civilian one wasnt until 1974) then this makes sense.

What doesnt make sense is that the Salyut has a docking port at the rear, with what looks to be a Soyuz spacecraft docked to it, and Salyut stations wouldnt have two docking ports until Salyut 6 was launched in 1977, nearly six years after this report.

What the hell is going on here?

From what I can tell in this report, and from what this surprisingly little-told history confirms, is that back in late 1971, when the United States and the Soviet Union were planning their first joint space mission, the original plan was to send an Apollo crew to a Soviet Salyut space station.

To understand why this is a big deal, it helps to know a bit about the significance of the Salyut stations. These were the very first space stations ever, and, coming as they did right on the heels of the Americans remarkable moon landing triumphs, the Salyut was what the Soviets could point to and pretend they were never really interested in landing on the moon, since they were way more interested in space stations.

While this isnt really truethey absolutely wanted to land on the moon, but, for a number of reasons, couldnt quite pull it offthe creation of the first space station is, of course, a huge achievement.

The first Salyut was a mix of triumph and tragedy, though, as the three-person Soyuz 11 crew that first occupied and worked on the station set records for longest time in space22 daysbut all were killed when the atmosphere from their return capsule vented out during re-entry.

That makes the timing of this report even more interestingits being proposed after the tragedy of Soyuz 11, after the re-entry and destruction of the whole Salyut 1 space station in October of 1971, but long before the next Soviet space station launched.

Thats why the mission plan calls for three launches, the first to launch a presumably all-new Salut space stationthis one designed with docking ports fore and aftand two other launches to put the crews in orbit, one in an Apollo, one in a Soyuz.

All of this predates Americas first space station, Skylab, as well, and also seems to be the first time that an international docking module was proposed.

The final version of this docking module eventually flew on the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, but, as you can see, its essentially the very direct descendent of the module that was described in this 1971 Apollo-Salyut document:

Whats fascinating to think about is just how much more research and science and experimentation could have been done on the mission if the Apollo docked to a full space station instead of just a Soyuz, which, really, was a ship that was mostly used to ferry cosmonauts back and forth from the space stations.

Docking an Apollo to a Salyut would be like driving your car to a vacation home; docking an Apollo to a Soyuz was more like driving your car to another car.

The Soviets agreed with this assessment, and their scientists states that they felt docking an Apollo to a Soyuz would be no more than a space stunt.

It makes sense that the Soviets would prefer docking an Apollo to a Salyut as well, from a propaganda standpoint, as it showed, especially after the moon landings, that the Americans werent dominating everything in spacethe Soviets had a space station, and the Americans didnt.

Interestingly, even with the resources of a full space station at their disposal, NASA was only planning to stay docked to Salyut for two days, and would spend 11 more days orbiting the Apollo independently on an Earth resources study mission.

Of course, the Apollo never got those two days on the Salyut, and the reason seems to have been from the Soviet side, as they found that the addition of a second docking port to the Salyut would be more difficult than anticipated:

Kotelnikov told the NASA people that in re-evaluating the proposed test mission the Soviets had come to the conclusion that it would not be technically and economically feasible to fly the mission using Salyut. Salyut had only one docking port and the addition of a second port would be very difficult technically and very costly in both time and money. Therefore, the Soviets proposed to conduct the test flight using Soyuz, which could accept all the modifications necessary for such a mission. They were quite forceful in stating that there would be no changes in any of the agreements made thus far.

Surprise was perhaps the mildest word for the Americans reaction. Nevertheless, Low quickly responded and told Kotelnikov that barring any technical difficulties, the switch from Salyut to Soyuz would be acceptable. He turned to Lunney and asked him if he saw any technical reason for opposing such a change, and Lunney could think of none. Operationally, this would present a simpler mission since it would involve only two coordinated launches - Apollo and Soyuz and not three - Apollo, Salyut, and Soyuz. Low and Frutkin tried to think through any political implications and found none. It would still be possible to exchange crews, which would be the major public impact of the mission, and such a mission would give the Americans an added advantage - not calling attention to the fact that the Soviets already had a space station flying and NASA did not.

So, in the end, the Americans, while sacrificing the scientific and research benefits of working on a space station, got the benefits of more favorable PR and an easier-to-plan mission.

The Soviets difficulties in adding the second docking port I suppose are borne out by how long it took them to launch a station that had two portsSalyut 6 in 1982though that simple innovation was truly groundbreaking for long-term space travel.

After the Soviets had a station that could accommodate two docked spacecraft, that meant they could swap crews without abandoning the station between crews, and that also meant that crews could be re-supplied by uncrewed cargo vessels, like the Progress that they developed in 1978, which allowed for truly long-duration missions and the ability to repair and maintain stations in orbit, with parts and supplies sent as needed.

If the Soviets had pulled this off for the Apollo-Salyut mission, they would have had the ability to resupply and re-crew stations at least three or four years earlier than they did, which could have been significant.

The Apollo-Soyuz mission as it flew was, of course a great success and a milestone in international cooperation in space, including the first time anyone in space ate borscht while pretending it was vodka:

And, as far as an American spacecraft docking with a Soviet or Russian space station, that did eventually happen, with the Shuttle-Mir docking missions between 1994 and 1998 that helped the U.S. plan and train for the construction of the ISS.

Im still surprised I wasnt aware of this amazing Apollo-to-Salyut plan before; Ive always admired the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, but I had no idea how much more ambitious it could have been.

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America Once Planned To Send An Apollo Spacecraft To A Soviet Space Station - Jalopnik

When the Japanese HTV-9 Kounotori cargo ship lifted off May 20 to deliver supplies and science equipment to the International Space Station, a landmark chapter in the stations story drew to a close and a new chapter, helping to chart the course for Artemis-Generation voyages into the solar system, began.

Among the cargo the spacecraft delivered to the space station May 25 is the final NASA EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to the Space Station multipurpose payload shelving unit. Better known as EXPRESS Racks, these permanent fixtures on the station support a variety of research experiments providing power, protective storage, cooling and heating, command and data communications and easy transport for up to 10 small payloads each.

Since our earliest ventures into space, weve sought more efficient, longer-term ways to conduct cutting-edge science in low-Earth orbit and beyond, said Bobby Watkins, manager of the Human Exploration Development & Operations Office at Marshall Space Flight Center. The EXPRESS Racks have been a cornerstone of science on the space station, and a vital part of our mission to make space exploration safer and more comfortable for our crews, and also reap untold scientific benefits back home on Earth.

Marshall oversees space station hardware development and implementation for NASA, and NASA personnel in Marshalls Payload Operations Integration Center monitor experiments continuously, every day of the year. At any given time, up to 80 experiments can be in process, controlled by station crew members or from the ground. The racks operate at near capacity around the clock, and data compiled by Shaun Glasgow, project manager for the EXPRESS Racks at Marshall, and his team reveals a staggering fact: Since installation and startup of the first space station rack in 2001, NASA has logged more than 85 total years of combined rack operational hours using these facilities.

The sheer volume of science thats been conducted using the racks up until now is just overwhelming, Glasgow said. And as we prepare to return human explorers to the Moon and journey on to Mars, its even more exciting to consider all the scientific investigations still to come.

Once the new rack is installed, 11 total racks will be on the station the eight original EXPRESS Racks and three Basic EXPRESS Racks, more streamlined and versatile modern versions. Each is about the size of a refrigerator and comes equipped with up to eight configurable lockers and two drawers to house payloads. Experiments can be conducted, removed independently and returned to Earth depending on varying time requirements.

The first EXPRESS rack was successfully tested aboard the space shuttle in 1997. The first two completed racks were delivered to the space station on STS-100 in 2001 and have been in continuous operation since as have all the subsequent added racks.

The new rack is expected to be installed and operational by fall.

The technology is a legacy of the space shuttle program, which conducted a raft of scientific investigations from its versatile mid-deck lockers slotted payload storage racks during more than 130 flights between 1981 and 2011. Those compact, standardized units became the model for developing the larger, more efficient racks we employ today, Glasgow said.

He speculates on how the EXPRESS Racks will carry on that engineering legacy, impacting future hardware development as humanity extends its reach ever farther into the solar system. Science leads, but engineering innovation is the true hallmark of NASAs accomplishments for more than a half-century, he said. The work we did over those years got us here. Now its our turn to chart the future, delivering the equipment to carry science and discovery missions into the next century and beyond.

A final example of that innovative spirit is ready to get to work.

Funded by NASAs Johnson Space Center, the EXPRESS Racks were developed by engineers at the Boeing Co. and Marshall, which jointly built and tested the racks at Marshall in the late 1990s.

Editors note: Rick Smith, an ASRC Federal/Analytical Services employee, supports the Office of Strategic Analysis & Communications.

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Versatile express rack arrives at Space Station | Military Scene - Theredstonerocket

For most people, the first things that likely come to mind when imagining Patagonia in South America are mountains, glaciers, lakes and fjords. But there is also a lesser-known tourist destination: the visitors centre of a Chinese-owned space station in remote north-west Patagonia, Argentina.

In 2014, Argentine President Cristina Kirchners administration signed a secretive agreement for China to establish and operate a deep space station in the province of Neuqun. The agreement, which predates President Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative, raised questions among analysts about its terms. The 50-year equity-free agreement restricts Argentinas sovereign control of the land and operations, provides exhaustive tax exemptions and enables the liberal movement of Chinese labour, working under Chinese labour law.

Unlike the civilian-run European Space Agency, which has a similar agreement with Argentina, Chinas space program is run by the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). The Patagonian deep space station is managed by the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General (CLTC). The CLTC reports to the PLAs Strategic Support Force. Unsurprisingly, the United States has expressed its concerns over the potential for spying and the militarising of space.

A close look at the agreement reveals the following:

Collectively, these clauses significantly limit Argentinas sovereign rights and prospective economic benefits associated with a space station operated by a foreign military that uses technology with unknown application.

It is agreements like this one that raise scepticism among critics of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Signing this agreement six years ago was an attempt by the Argentine government to strengthen relations with China as a strategic partner. It might be argued that this was more successful than other attempts, such as in 2004 when former President Nstor Kirchner (Cristina Kirchners late husband) failed to secure US$20 billion in investment from Beijing.

When Mauricio Macri won Argentinas presidential election in 2015, he promised to review the countrys contracts with China. A very different kind of president to those before (and after) him, Macri was the only non-Peronist president to complete a full term of government since the rise of Peronist politics in the 1940s. Even Macri knew that a pivot entirely away from China was not in Argentinas interest, especially as its economy began to rapidly decline. Liberal, pro-trade Macri went on to sign agreements with both the US and China during his presidency.

The challenge now for Fernndez is not unlike what is often experienced by small and middle-power countries across the Indo-Pacific region: a potentially good economic deal rubbing up against a security challenge.

In 2020, President Alberto Fernndez is faced with this strategic challenge that is further complicated by the countrys protracted economic decline and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Argentine economy is, again, in crisis. In late May, the central government defaulted on a $503 million repayment towards $66 billion in foreign debt. It is the ninth sovereign debt default since independence from Spain in 1816, and its second in the last 20 years. Poverty has steadily increased in recent years, with more than a third of the urban population under the poverty line. In mid-May, pre-default, the government cut its economic forecast to contract by 6.5% in 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also hit hard. In both the province and city (important distinctions) of Buenos Aires, Argentines are enduring some of the worlds strictest lockdowns, unable to leave their homes since 20 March for much more than food. International travel, including to other South American countries, is suspended until at least September, as is travel between domestic provinces.

While these events take up the attention of the Casa Rosada, there is little time for the government, or analysts, to focus on the increasing strategic competition between the US and China, and its implications for Argentina. In conversations, analysts are concerned that the US views Argentina as less important, especially as the US is less involved with Latin American more broadly.

The challenge now for Fernndez is not unlike what is often experienced by small and middle-power countries across the Indo-Pacific region: a potentially good economic deal rubbing up against a security challenge. On one hand, China might provide the necessary trade and investment that is desperately needed. On the other hand, the secrecy and lack of transparency that characterise the Patagonia deep space station could become an example for more autocratic political leadership.

For a country famed for its natural resources, beautiful landscapes and cultural richness, Argentina is yet again caught at a strategic crossroads with a mountain of challenges ahead.

A final word of advice for when borders open again and Patagonia is on your bucket list: call ahead for your visit to Chinas space station walk-ins are not welcome, so make sure you book in advance.

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The gravity of China's space base in Argentina - The Interpreter

An artistic rendering of the Tiangong space station. Image courtesy of the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).

Chinese officials have unveiled details of, and launch timeline for, its Tiangong space station now that the Long March 5B launch vehicle has been successfully launched and Chinas crewed capsule has been tested.

According to Chinese news media, the Tiangong space station will be completed by the end of 2022 and will orbit Earth at an altitude of 340 to 450 kilometres. Tiangong will operate for at least ten years and scientific, technological, and industry application experiments will be conducted on board.

The plan is to have three astronauts on board for six-month stints, and Tiangong will be able to accommodate up to six astronauts during crew transfers.

Tiangong will consist of three modules. Tianhe will be the core module that will provide the living quarters for the astronauts as well as the command and control centre for the space station. Meanwhile, the Tiangong-1 and Taingong-2 modules will be the space laboratories from which all experiments will be conducted.

The Tiangong space station will be T-shaped, with the Tianhe core module at the centre and the Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 laboratory modules on each side. Each module will have a mass of approximately 20 tonnes, and the entire orbital complex will have a combined mass of 66 tonnes.

The Tianhe will have two berth ports connecting to the Tiangong-1 and -2 space laboratory modules, three docking ports for crewed and cargo spacecraft, and an exit that will allow astronauts to conduct extravehicular activities.

The Tiangong space station has been designed to expand to a total of six modules if Chinese space officials deem it necessary and appropriate.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Tiangong space station is the ambitious timeline and launch cadence for its completion. Chinese officials are planning eleven launches over a 24-month period starting in early 2021 in order to fully assemble the space station.

The first launch will loft the Tianhe core module on board a Long March 5B on early 2021. This will be followed by the launch of a crewed Shenzhou capsule followed by a Tianzhou cargo launch.

By 2023 both Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 space laboratory modules will be launched, along with three other crewed Shenzhou and a further three Tianzhou cargo launches.

Once the Tiangong space station has been fully assembled, the Xuntian space telescope will be launched and will be capable of docking with the crewed orbital complex for maintenance and repairs.

Finally, Chinese space officials have also announced that up to 18 new Chinese astronauts will be selected in July 2020. These men and women will be selected from the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) as well as civilians with exemplary scientific and engineering backgrounds and qualifications.

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China Unveils Details Of Its Planned Tiangong Space Station - SpaceWatch.Global

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Local astronaut on SpaceX shares amazing photo of view from space - KMOV.com

LifestyleOutdoorsThe International Space Station flies above our heads regularly, orbiting the planet every 90 minutes at a height of over 250 miles

Wednesday, 3rd June 2020, 9:27 am

Of course, it's impossible to see during the day, but at night - and with the space station's orbit passing over Britain just so - it takes on the appearance of a bright star moving across the sky.

It can actually be startling when you first spot it - a glowing orb without the telltale flashes of an aircraft's wing drifting silently through the dark - but the station passes overhead fairly frequently.

It goes through periods when we won't be able to see it for months, as its diagonal orbit crosses other parts of the planet, but every now and then, there comes a space of a few weeks when it flies overhead - and at night.

Heres everything you need to know:

You should have no trouble spotting the International Space Station when it drifts overhead - we say 'drift', but it's actually travelling at over 17,000 mph.

The station takes on the appearance of a bright star, and is usually much brighter than anything else in the sky.

Sometimes the station will rise over the horizon; other times it might 'fade' into view in the middle of the night sky as it enters into the sun's light.

It will always appear in the west, and will travel eastwards.

And just as it appears, it may disappear in the same way, growing fainter and fainter until its completely enshrouded by the Earth's shadow.

You'll easily be able to spot it with the naked eye (cloud cover permitting of course), though even modestly priced binoculars may be able to pick out some of the station's details, like its large solar panels.

So take a look up, there's a good chance you'll spot the International Space Station, and it can be amazing to think there are actually people living up there and conducting experiments within the space environment.

The experiments that they carry out would be almost impossible to replicate on earth.

Can you see the ISS fly over Scotland in June?

Unfortunately, as we head into June, NASA's Spot the Station website lists no visible sightings of the station, and its unclear as to when well be able to witness it passing through UK skies again.

Its still up there though it will just be flying overhead during daylight hours

If you still want to get a picture of where it is, you can use isstracker.com, which gives real-time updates on the orbital location of the station.

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International Space Station tracker: will you be able to see the ISS flying over Scotland in June? - The Scotsman

Name

$ bills stacked in km

# of Burj Khalifa buildings

# of Eiffel Towers

# of Empire State buildings

# of Mount Everest mountains

1

Jeff Bezos

12,342

14,906

38,092

32,393

1,395

2

Bill Gates

10,704

12,927

33,036

28,093

1,209

3

Bernard Arnault & family

8,301

10,025

25,619

21,787

938

4

Warren Buffett

7,372

8,904

22,754

19,350

833

5

Larry Ellison

6,444

7,783

19,889

16,913

728

With a total wealth of $413.5 billion, the five richest people in the world are all male and four out of five live in the US, with the exception of Bernard Arnault & family who are situated in France. If you stacked their wealth in $1 bills, it would reach the ISS space station and back 56 times.

Out of all billionaires, 241 (11.50%) are female, accounting for 12.31% of the total wealth of $8 trillion. The research also reveals that only one out of the 10 richest women in the world are self-made billionaires, compared to eight out of the 10 richest men.

The industry splitAcross the billionaires analysed, their wealth has derived from a total of 18 different industries. Out of the 30 richest people in the world, 33.3% acquired their wealth from technology and 30% became billionaires from fashion & retail.

Looking at the smallest industries for billionaires, gambling and casinos has the lowest number of billionaires overall. The sports industry also ranks low for both men and women, with construction and engineering as the third smallest industry for female billionaires. The telecom industry is the only sector that doesnt have billionaires of both genders and accounts for 29 male billionaires, making it the third smallest industry for men.

The country splitThe worlds billionaires spread across 72 counties, but where do you have the highest chance of becoming one? Analysing the country of residence, these are the top three countries with the highest number of billionaires:

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Bezos' wealth stacked in $1 bills would hit ISS space station 30 times - Wealth Professional

Living in space for an extended period of time isnt ideal for the human body. An absence of gravity in space leads to a loss of bone density and the risk of muscle atrophy. Therefore, astronauts who reside in the International Space Station (ISS) need a workout regimento offset those effects. While in space astronauts are required to exercise two hours a day, six days a week.

NASA Commentator Lori Meggs spoke with Gail Perusek of NASAs Exercise Countermeasures Lab to discuss how the ISS crew stays healthy in space. Typical resistance and aerobic exercises you see on Earth are still essential, but they do require a few upgrades to work without gravity.

Astronauts use a weight lifting machine called an Advanced Resistive Exercise Device or ARED. Dumbbells dont work in space because without gravity they dont weigh anything. Instead, an AREDuses canistersto create tiny vacuums that the crew can pull on with a long bar. Astronauts are able to do squats, bench presses and deadlifts this way.

Meanwhile, thespace stations treadmillrequires crew members to use harnesses and bungee cords to prevent them from floating away. ISS also has a stationary bike with no seat (since you cant actually sit down). Astronauts sit up against a back pad to stay in place, then grip handles as they pedal.

Were definitely learning more about the optimal regimen, the optimal equipment, Perusek said in the video. The ARED, the new Advanced Resistive Exercise Device, which was flown on station in 2008 provides a 600-pound resistive force and the previous IRED, Interim Resistive Exercise Device, was limited to 300 pounds. Since the ARED has flown weve seen crew members come back healthier than ever.

If you enjoyed this story, read why women may be better suited for space travel.

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The post Heres how astronauts exercise in space without gravity appeared first on In The Know.

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Heres how astronauts exercise in space without gravity - Yahoo Lifestyle

It was already a big deal for Tampa when Los Angeles-based artist Tristan Eaton was commissioned in 2016 to paint a mural on the Berns Steak House wine warehouse. The street artist has murals all over the world, as well as pieces at the Modern Museum of Art in New York.

Now, having a Tristan Eaton mural in Tampa is even more significant. His work was aboard the SpaceX shuttle Crew Dragon, which docked at the International Space Station on Sunday.

According to artnet.com, Elon Musks SpaceX commissioned the artist to create indestructible artworks to commemorate the shuttles first trip to the ISS.

Eaton has shown locally at Tampas CASS Contemporary, the gallery that commissioned the mural at Berns Fine Wine and Spirits (1209 S Howard Ave.) in a partnership with Berns to help commemorate the restaurants 60th anniversary.

Titled Evangelines Feast, the mural is on a 60- by 30-foot wall that faces Howard Avenue. Before painting it, Eaton learned about the rich history of Berns, had a meal there and took a tour. Using a color palette made up of the deep reds of the restaurants decor, the mural incorporates an image of founder Bern Laxer, details of wood from the Harry Waugh Dessert Room and names of longtime employees.

It features images of Bacchus (the Roman god of wine), Artemis (the Greek goddess of the hunt), wine bottles and Florida panthers.

For the space station, Eaton created a series of two-sided, gold, brass and aluminum plates titled Human Kind to be viewed by the five astronauts who will live at the ISS. Americans Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley brought the works with them on the Crew Dragon and docked at the ISS on Sunday.

Each plate says Human on one side and Kind on the other. Theyre instantly recognizable as Eatons work, with collages of pop imagery including chimpanzees and rocket ships.

According to space.com, they come in protective sleeves with a front pocket containing the artists statement and a greeting to the astronauts. The greeting reads: Welcome to space! Thank you for taking time to view these works I created for this expedition. Your courage and dedication is an inspiration to all of us down here on Earth. I imagine every astronaut takes a moment to digest the history and glory of where you are and what you are doing for humankind.

The plates will come back to Earth with the Crew Dragon in a few months.

In an Instagram post, Eaton said stay tuned about what will happen to the artwork when it returns to Earth.

As an artist I try to look at the world with a big picture view, he wrote in the post. No one gets a bigger view of our world than our brave astronauts on the ISS.

Eaton said the plates at the space station represent the duality of Human Kind, our past and our future.

With kindness, hope and science, Human Kind has changed the world many times over, he wrote. "For a better future, we can do it again.

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SpaceX commissioned this artist for the space station. He also painted a mural in Tampa. - Tampa Bay Times

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) NASA is rolling out the International Space Stations red carpet for Tom Cruise to make a movie in orbit.

The space agencys administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said before Wednesdays planned launch of two NASA astronauts aboard a SpaceX rocket that Elon Musks company is already getting customers eager to blast off.

Cruise is one of them.

Bridenstine said hell leaving it to Cruise and SpaceX to provide the mission details.

I will tell you this: NASA has been in talks with Tom Cruise and, of course, his team, and we will do everything we can to make it a successful mission, including opening up the International Space Station, he told The Associated Press.

Asked about Cruise filming on the space station, Musk told CBS This Morning, Actually, I think that remains to be seen. We are supportive and I think NASA is supportive of anything that captures the imagination of the public.

Bridenstine said the whole reason NASA created this commercial marketplace is so SpaceX, Boeing and other private companies can attract customers besides the U.S. government. That will drive down costs to American taxpayers, he said, and increase access to space for all types of people celebrities included.

I dont admit this very often ... but I was inspired to become a Navy pilot because when I was in elementary school, I watched the movie Top Gun, the 44-year-old Bridenstine said.

Cruise starred as Navy pilot Pete Maverick Mitchell in the 1986 film. A sequel is due out later this year.

The question is, Can Tom Cruise make a new movie that inspires the next generation Elon Musk. And if he can do that, then were all for it. NASA is all in, Bridenstine said.

A message to Cruises representative was not immediately returned.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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NASA chief "all in" for Tom Cruise to film on space station - The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla., May 30 (UPI) -- NASA and SpaceX ended a nine-year absence of human spaceflight from U.S. soil Saturday when two astronauts lifted off toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

The 3:22 p.m. EDT launch, under overcast skies, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida marked the first time since the final space shuttle mission in 2011 that NASA astronauts didn't have to rely on Russia to get into space.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, in comments earlier this week, called the launch a beacon of hope to a nation troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic and social strife, much in the same way the Apollo moon program boosted the nation's morale.

The successful launch began a 19-hour journey for astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who are to dock with the International Space Station. It also is a final test for the Crew Dragon space capsule made by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

SpaceX confirmed the capsule successfully reached orbit, and separated from the second stage booster. The first-stage rocket booster landed successfully on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.

"It was incredible. Appreciate all the hard work and thanks for the great ride into space," Behnken said over the communication link to ground crews.

Bridenstine said he'd been praying for the astronauts and their families at liftoff.

"I've felt that rumble before, but it's a whole different feeling when you've got your own team on that rocket," Bridenstine said. "And they are our team, they are America's team. ... This is everything that America has to offer in its purest form."

Both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence returned for the launch after Wednesday's postponement.

In a speech at the space center's Vehicle Assembly Building after the launch, President Donald Trump called for an end to violence following the death of Minnesotan George Floyd during an arrest Monday.

He then praised NASA and SpaceX for recent advances, as well as plans to return to the moon and eventually Mars.

"Today as we mark a new commitment to an American future in space -- a tremendous commitment it is -- let us all commit to a brighter future for all our citizens right here on Earth," Trump said.

NASA and SpaceX defied iffy weather forecasts to begin the mission. Storms in the east-central Florida area created "no go" conditions about two hours before launch. But the weather cleared as the countdown neared liftoff time.

Storm clouds and precipitation had forced a postponement of the launch Wednesday afternoon.

Astronauts Behnken and Hurley announced from the capsule that they had chosen the name Endeavour for it, which was the name of Behnken's first space vehicle, the space shuttle Endeavour.

The launch is the first time a private company has sent astronauts into orbit, under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

SpaceX secured a contract to provide ferry service to the space station for a fixed cost, and developed the rocket and capsule with NASA's cooperation.

The Falcon 9 rocket had already been proven as a reliable workhorse for carrying supplies to the space station 250 miles above Earth.

Musk, speaking to family members of both astronauts on Wednesday, said he felt a strong sense of responsibility for their safety.

"I said we've done everything we can to make sure your dads come back OK," he recalled telling each astronaut's only child Wednesday before the launch was called off.

Heading east

After launch, the capsule headed east over the Atlantic Ocean and toward the United Kingdom.

The capsule was to orbit the Earth until it reaches the altitude of the space station and catches up to it.

Crew Dragon will inch closer and dock slowly. The capsule is to dock autonomously, but Hurley will demonstrate flying it manually for a brief test.

The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the space station Sunday, with docking planned for 10:29 a.m. EDT. Hurley and Behnken are to remain in the capsule for almost two hours as it is locked in place and checks are made on its systems.

Once the hatch opens, astronaut Chris Cassidy -- already on board the space station -- will greet the new arrivals. He and Russians Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner arrived in April and are to stay there until October.

During the mission, called Demo 2, Behnken and Hurley will conduct final tests of the Crew Dragon capsule before it is certified for regular ferry service to the space station.

Flying manually

One of the biggest tests will be flying the capsule manually for brief periods, using Crew Dragon's touchscreen controls.

"We've longed to be a part of a test mission, a test spaceflight," Behnken said during a brief press conference in the days before the launch. "It's something we dreamed about, flying something other than the space shuttle" to carry people into space.

Behnken and Hurley don't know how long they will be on the space station. NASA has said it could be as little as six weeks and as much as 16 weeks, depending on how quickly the crew completes necessary maintenance on the space station and how favorable weather conditions are for spacecraft splashdown.

If the mission ultimately is successful, NASA plans to launch another SpaceX capsule to the space station Aug. 30, Bridenstine, the NASA administrator, said Tuesday.

Crew members for that mission are NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi, an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The return to Earth for the Demo 2 mission would mark the first splashdown of a U.S. space capsule carrying astronauts since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975.

SpaceX is more than two years behind schedule for the launch. NASA awarded two finalist contracts in 2014 to certify new spacecraft to carry people by 2017 -- Boeing received $4.2 billion for its Starliner capsule and SpaceX received $2.6 billion for Crew Dragon.

Starliner failed to reach the space station during a test flight in December, and is scheduled for another attempt in the third quarter of this year.

Over the past decade, NASA astronauts only used Russian Soyuz rockets and capsules to reach the space station, at a cost of more than $70 million per seat.

Veteran astronauts

Behnken, 49, and Hurley, 53, have been astronauts since their selection in 2000. They worked closely with SpaceX to develop the new spacecraft systems.

The two men share similar life experiences. Both are married to female astronauts who have traveled into space, and both have one child. Both were military test pilots and hold the rank of colonel -- Behnken with the U.S.Air Force and Hurley with the U.S. Marine Corps.

Behnken, originally from the St. Louis area, was a former chief of NASA's Astronaut Office. He flew aboard two space shuttle flights as a mission specialist.

Hurley, originally from upstate New York, flew on the last shuttle mission in 2011 and was the first Marine pilot to fly the F/A18 E/F Super Hornet.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is the first orbital launch vehicle to be fully reusable, although the rocket for this launch was brand new.

The Falcon 9 is just short of 230 feet tall, with a 12-foot diameter. Nine of SpaceX's Merlin engines provide thrust of 1.7 million pounds upon liftoff. By comparison, a typical F-16 fighter jet emits 32,000 pounds of thrust.

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Watch live: NASA astronauts on way to space station - UPI News

The International Space Station has been a constant presence in the skies since its launch in 1998. In fact, the ISS orbits our planet every 90 minutes at an approximate altitude of 250 miles (400km). Although impossible to see during the day, the space station transforms into the third brightest object in the night sky.

The ISS goes through periods it cannot be seen from the UK for months.

Look west, right of the moon for the bright light moving towards the overhead

Tim Peake

This is because the space station's diagonal orbit can criss-cross other parts of the planet.

However, every now and then, a window of a few weeks arrives when the ISS flies over the UK at night.

Exact times understandably vary slightly depending on your location in the UK, but Express.co.uk has used Lancaster - the closest point to the geographical centre of the country in attempt to provide a fair average estimation.

Spotting the ISS for the first can be a profound experience, when you appreciate the glowing speck drifting silently overhead is actually home to human beings conducting scientific research benefiting the world.

READ MORE:SpaceX launch UK LIVE stream: How to see SpaceX launch over the UK

Express.co.uk has provided the dates and times ISS will become visible for the rest of the month, with the expected duration added in brackets.

May 28 10.09pm (6 minutes)

May 29 10.58pm (3 minutes)

May 30 10.10pm (5 minutes)

DON'T MISSElon Musks house: How SpaceX CEO spent 5.4million on Bel Air house- INSIGHTSpaceX tracker: How to see the Crew Dragon and ISS tonight- LIVESpaceX rocket live: Can I see SpaceX over the UK tonight?- EXPLAINER

You should have no trouble spotting the International Space Station as it drifts overhead at an average speed of 17,000mph.

The ISS takes on the appearance of one of the brightest stars in the night sky.

Sometimes the station will rise over the horizon, while at other times the ISS may slowly fade into view in the middle of the night sky as it starts to catch the Sun's light.

The orbiting laboratory will always appear in the west and will travel eastwards.

And just as it appears, it may disappear in the same way, growing gradually fainter until it is completely enshrouded by the Earth's shadow.

You'll easily be able to spot it with the naked eye weather permitting.

However, those who own a telescope or binoculars may even be able to distinguish some of the space station's details.

These can inclide the space station's iconic solar panels.

240 individuals from 19 countries have visited the International Space Station.

The space station has been continuously occupied since November 2000.

An international crew of six people live and work while traveling at a speed of five miles per second, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes.

In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets.

Peggy Whitson set the record for spending the most total time living and working in space at 665 days on Sept. 2, 2017.

The acre of solar panels that power the station means sometimes you can look up in the sky at dawn or dusk and see the spaceship flying over your home, even if you live in a big city.

The living and working space in the station is larger than a six-bedroom house (and has six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window).

To mitigate the loss of muscle and bone mass in the human body in microgravity, the astronauts work out at least two hours a day.

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International Space Station UK tracker: Find out how to see the ISS TONIGHT - Express.co.uk

China has outlined plans to build an orbiting science lab by 2023.

The Heavenly Palace station will house six people and serve as a test bed for experiments on astronomy, technology and more.

China hopes to build the spacecraft over the course of 11 rocket launches, reports SpaceNews.The first of these will take place next year, Zhou Jianping, chief designer of Chinas human spaceflight program, said at a conference in Beijing Tuesday.

Once operational, Chinas lab will rival the International Space Station (ISS) built by space agencies from the US, Japan, Russia, Canada and Europe.

The ISS has orbited roughly 250 miles above Earths surface since 1998 and also serves as a space environment research laboratory.

Jianpings announcement comes shortly after the China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched its newest rocket earlier this month.

The Long March 5B is designed to carry large payloads into low-Earth orbit.

Launch of the new stations core module on a Long March 5B could take place in early 2021, Jianping said.

A model of the huge module was displayed at an airshow in Zhuhai, China in 2018.

As part of the 11 missions, China hopes to launch two experiment modules, four crewed spacecraft and four cargo vehicles.

A number of international scientific projects will take place on the station, from astronomy to research into deep space travel.

According to Jianping, a total of 18 astronauts will be plucked from the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force.

Training has already begun, SpaceNews reports.

President Xi Jinping has prioritized advancing Chinas space program to strengthen national security.

The country has already sent two space stations into space Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 though only Chinese astronauts boarded them.

The US Defense Department has highlighted Chinas increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations from using space-based assets in a crisis.

China insists it has only peaceful ambitions in space but has tested anti-satellite missiles.

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China reveals plan for Heavenly Palace space station to rival ISS - New York Post

All eyes have been on the sky for the past few months as lockdown has turned us into a nation of stargazers.

Meteor showers, supermoons and the Starlink satellites have all given us plenty of free celestial entertainment while we've been confined to our homes.

Tonight there's an extra-special reason to look up as Nasa and Elon Musk's company SpaceX launch a manned rocket into space from the US for the first time in nine years.

If you're out watching the historic event, stay up a little later and keep your eyes peeled for the International Space Station too, where the Falcon 9 rocket's astronauts are headed.

The ISS will be visible over Greater Manchester for several nights from tonight, with most passes taking place between 10pm and 11pm.

The space station is currently occupied by an international crew of three people who live and work there while travelling at five miles per second.

The crews living and working space is larger than a six-bedroom house and contains a gym and a 360-degree view bay window.

The International Space Station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes travelling through 16 sunrises and sunsets in the space of 24 hours.

To see it, head outside during the times listed below.

The ISS looks like a fast flying plane or a very bright star moving across the sky - but it doesnt have flashing lights or change direction.

Planes usually fly at approximately 600 miles per hour whereas the space station flies at 17,500 miles per hour.

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When you can see the International Space Station flying over Greater Manchester over the next week - Manchester Evening News

At a time when attention has been turned towards our skies in recent days a photographer has captured the moment the International Space Station flew over Bristol this weekend.

Bob Holder-White caught the moment the International Space Station flew over Clifton Suspension Bridge at 10.59pm on Friday (May 29).

A 20-second exposure shows the path and trail of the International Space Station passing between both Clifton Suspension Bridge and the moon.

Elon Musk was able to successfully launch a SpaceX rocket into the sky with two astronauts in on Saturday after the first attempt failed due to bad weather.

Billy Swaby managed to capture the footage as the SpaceX rocket flew over Bristol.

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The video shows the rocket gliding through the sky gracefully as it successfully launched into the sky the second time around.

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Video captures moment SpaceX and International Space Station flying over Bristol - Bristol Live

The Crew Dragon has arrived.

On Saturday, SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, launched a Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon capsule carrying two NASA astronauts on top. SpaceX is now the first private business to accomplish a feat taking people to orbit that had until now only been done by nations.

Less than a day later, the spacecraft docked at the International Space Station, successfully completing the first leg of its journey.

This Crew Dragon test flight is a shakedown cruise to certify that the spacecraft meets NASAs needs and safety standards in order to start routine trips taking astronauts to and from the space station. The agency has relied on Russia for that task since the space shuttles were retired in 2011. Once astronauts begin using the capsule with regularity, space tourists could also begin to fly it in the years to come.

At 1:22 p.m. Eastern time, the two astronauts, Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley, disembarked the Crew Dragon, exchanging handshakes and hugs with the three astronauts already on the space station.

Welcome to the International Space Station," Christopher Cassidy, the NASA astronaut who is current commander of the space station, said to Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley. Please come aboard.

In a welcoming ceremony, Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator addressed the astronauts from NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, where space station operations are managed.

I will tell you the whole world saw this mission, and we are so, so proud of everything you have done for our country, and in fact, to inspire the world, Mr. Bridenstine said. He then asked the astronauts if they had managed to get any sleep during the 19-hour trip.

We did get probably a good seven hours or so opportunity for sleep. Mr. Behnken replied. And I did succeed at sleep.

The current mission will not be a complete success until Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley return to Earth in the Crew Dragon. which they have named Endeavour, the same name as the retired space shuttle that both men flew on and the British sailing ship commanded by James Cook as he explored the Pacific.

This has gone as well as we could have expected it to go, Mr. Bridenstine said during a news conference after the docking.

Mr. Bridenstine and other officials including President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have offered the successful launch as a hopeful inspiration to serve as a contrast to riots that have followed the death of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota who died after a policeman kneed on his neck.

But Mr. Bridenstine agreed that while the SpaceX mission might bring people together, it is not by itself a solution to social unrest.

If the expectation was that things on the ground were going to change because we launched a rocket, I think maybe the expectation might have been a little high, he said.

For now, Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley have an open-ended stay in orbit. The Crew Dragon test flight was originally scheduled to last only a couple of weeks, enabling the astronauts to test out capabilities of the capsule including serving as a shelter in case of an emergency.

But there have been delays in completing work on the spacecraft, as well as another that NASA is depending on for astronaut transportation, Boeings Starliner capsule. As a result, the space station is currently short-staffed with only three astronauts aboard Mr. Cassidy and two Russians, Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin limiting how much scientific research can be conducted.

Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley can also assist with refurbishment tasks like spacewalks to install new lithium ion batteries that just arrived in a Japanese cargo ship.

The Crew Dragon is currently certified for up to four months in space. The spacecrafts solar panels gradually decay over time, and the worry is that if it is docked too long, the panels would not be able to generate enough power for a safe re-entry to Earths atmosphere.

But over the next few weeks, the astronauts will periodically turn on the Crew Dragon and check. If the solar arrays turn out to be more resilient than predicted, the mission could be extended beyond four months.

During the welcome ceremony, Brian Babin, a Republican congressman whose district includes the Johnson Space Center, asked how this flight compared with the astronauts earlier trips to space aboard the space shuttles.

Mr. Behnken said that while the shuttles offered a rougher ride getting off the launchpad, the ascent became smoother. But Dragon was huffing and puffing all the way into orbit, he said. A little bit more alive is probably the best way I would describe it.

Once in orbit, the spacecraft appeared to smoothly pass all of its tests. Today, the Dragon is extremely healthy, said Steve Stich, deputy manager of NASAs commercial crew program. Theres really no major problems.

During Sundays docking, the approach of the Crew Dragon proceeded smoothly, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, with a camera on the space station capturing the red, green and white lights of the capsule as it steadily crept up over the course of a couple of hours. The astronauts took over manual control for a while, firing the thrusters to nudge the position of the spacecraft. They then turned control back to a computer on board for the final steps, leading to docking at 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley then had to wait close to three hours more as air pressure was equalized between their capsule and the station, tests verified no air leaks and the spacecraft was plugged into the outposts power systems.

As you are performing your inventory please collect all your food and water bottle trash, Anna Menon, a SpaceX mission controller in Hawthorne, Calif., reminded Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley before they exited their spacecraft.

If no major problems arise during this test flight, NASA will use data from this flight to certify that the Crew Dragon is ready for routine flights to the space station. The next Crew Dragon mission and the first operational one is to carry four astronauts: three from NASA and one from the Japanese space agency.

But Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley got there first.

We were just the lucky guys who got to fly the rocket yesterday, Mr. Hurley said.

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Astronauts Dock With Space Station After Historic SpaceX Launch - The New York Times

Ahead of tomorrow's flight the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon spacecraft sits on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Bill Ingalls/NASA hide caption

Ahead of tomorrow's flight the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon spacecraft sits on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Almost 40 years have passed since the last time NASA astronauts blasted off into space on a brand new spaceship.

Now, as NASA looks forward to Wednesday's planned test flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon with a pair of astronauts on board, some in the spaceflight community have a little bit of dj vu.

The first space shuttle, Columbia, flew on April 12, 1981. Crowds gathered in Florida to watch this strange new spacecraft. It looked more like an airplane than the familiar bell-shaped capsules of the Apollo moon missions.

Wayne Hale's wife woke him up for the shuttle launch and he watched it on television in his bedroom, where he'd been trying to get a little sleep after working a prelaunch shift at Houston's Mission Control. He'd just come to NASA a few years before, and he says that a lot about that time was not so different from now.

"The substantially similar thing is that we've been waiting too long without being able to send Americans into orbit from America," says Hale, who went on to be a flight director for dozens of shuttle missions and head of the shuttle program.

Almost six years went by between the last flight of an Apollo spacecraft and the first space shuttle launch. "I remember a lot of talk about, 'Well, we should never be in the position as a nation again of not being able to send astronauts into space for this long,' " Hale says.

Left: Columbia Mission Commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen during training on Columbia's flight deck in 1981. Right: The interior of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA/SpaceX hide caption

This time around, though, NASA has been waiting even longer almost nine years.

NASA retired its space shuttles in 2011. Since then, it has been paying for seats on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get its astronauts to the International Space Station. That means American astronauts have been launching from Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, the space agency has been partnering with companies such as SpaceX and Boeing to help them build their own space vehicles. The idea was that NASA would focus on more ambitious missions like a return to the lunar surface, while letting space companies basically operate a taxi service to the nearby station.

One of them the SpaceX Crew Dragon is finally ready to blast off with people on board. And some in the space industry think this historic launch marks the start of a revolution for space travel.

That's because folks outside of NASA will be able to fly on these space taxis, too, if they can afford the fare, opening up space as a more accessible travel destination. Already there's talk of Tom Cruise riding a SpaceX capsule to the station to shoot an action movie.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is prepared for its first crewed launch from American soil. It arrived at the launch site on Feb. 13. SpaceX hide caption

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is prepared for its first crewed launch from American soil. It arrived at the launch site on Feb. 13.

Here again, history is repeating itself. Hale says the reusable space shuttle was supposed to transform space travel in a similar way.

"We were going to take Walter Cronkite. My goodness, we were going to have journalists in space. We were going to take entertainers," he recalls. "We were going to take John Denver into space."

All of that ended with the Challenger disaster and the deaths of all on board, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. The shuttle was more dangerous and more expensive than originally planned, and it flew far less often than NASA had hoped. The agency had to shelve its vision of bringing up lots of ordinary people.

"Let's hope that this new generation of spacecraft really work out to be safe enough where we really can do that," says Hale.

The safety of SpaceX's capsule and rocket is better understood than the shuttle was at its start. SpaceX had a successful test flight to the station and back with no people on board except after it had docked to the station, when astronauts on board the outpost opened the hatch and went inside.

The company also checked out the safety system for astronauts by deliberately destroying one of its rockets and checking to ensure that the capsule escaped without harm.

The first orbital mission of the space shuttle lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1981. NASA hide caption

Nothing like that was true for the space shuttle. NASA had never launched anything like it before sending it up with two astronauts: veteran John Young and rookie Robert Crippen.

On Wednesday afternoon at 4:33 p.m. EDT, from the very same launch pad, the SpaceX vehicle is scheduled to carry up another pair of astronauts: Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken.

"It's probably a dream of every test pilot school student to have the opportunity to fly on a brand-new spaceship and I'm lucky enough to get that opportunity," says Behnken.

Hurley says that during their time in the astronaut corps, they both had an opportunity to interact with the first space shuttle flyers. He recently saw Crippen at an event in Texas a few years ago, and they talked about that first shuttle launch.

"I think one thing that really registered with me with what Bob Crippen said was, you know, 'We were so focused on flying the mission, flying the vehicle, and executing and not making a mistake,' " says Hurley.

That's the kind of intense focus Hurley has to have, even in the midst of a pandemic that has NASA begging people not to gather in crowds to watch as they've done in the past for the shuttle.

A Crew Dragon launch escape demonstration which occurred earlier this year. SpaceX hide caption

Both Behnken and Hurley have flown on the space shuttle in fact, Hurley was on its last mission. The shuttle had a cockpit crammed full of switches and dials, but the more modern SpaceX capsule is controlled with a sleek touchscreen.

"Growing up as a pilot, my whole career, having a certain way to control a vehicle," says Hurley. "This is certainly different."

And when the duo returns to Earth, they'll splash down in the ocean rather than coasting to a stop on a landing strip.

They will, however, be carrying some familiar cargo: an American flag. It flew on the first shuttle mission and the last. It has been hanging at the space station for years, just waiting for a crew to launch from the U.S. and bring it back home.

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Astronauts Head To The International Space Station From US Soil - NPR

HOUSTON, Texas -- If all goes to plan, two U.S. astronauts will float into the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon from a U.S. rocket for the first time in nine years. When they get there, they'll find an American flag left there by the last space shuttle crew in July 2011.

Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson said at the time about the flag, "It represents a goal. [The flag is] to be returned to Earth once again by an astronaut that launches from a U.S. vehicle, hopefully in a few short years."

With a successful launch Wednesday, SpaceX astronauts will win the race to capture the flag beating Boeing - its competitor in the U.S. commercial space race. It's a big win for SpaceX, the private company that built the rocket, but not the prize SpaceX has been eyeing.

More than a decade ago, in June 2009, Elon Musk stood with ABC13's Ted Oberg outside what was then just a cargo capsule still being designed to fly freeze dried food and supplies to the space station.

He was three years away from his company's first successful cargo flight with the space station for the first time, but Musk was already looking ahead.

"You make no secret about the fact that this is not taking freeze dried food to the space station for its life, you want people in this soon?," Oberg asked Musk as he looked over the Dragon capsule.

"Absolutely," Musk confidently answered. "The whole purpose of me starting SpaceX from the beginning has been human space flight. We've designed the Falcon Nine rocket and our Dragon spacecraft to be human-rated from day one."

WATCH: See Ted Oberg's behind the scenes tour of SpaceX's early days from CEO Elon Musk

It is the tradition of American space exploration from its earliest days.

At Rice University in September 1962, President John F. Kennedy launched America's Space Race, telling Americans, "We do these things, not because they are easy but because they are hard." Nine years later, a man was on the moon.

America hasn't been back since, but in 2011, when the final space shuttle came to a stop, Commander Chris Ferguson said from the flight deck, "One thing is indisputable, America is not going to stop exploring."

WATCH: Ted Oberg's coverage of the final shuttle launch from July 2011

At the time, Mayor Annise Parker predicted, "hurt in Houston" until manned space flight begins again.

Which likely makes the 20-year old International Space Station, just 220 miles above Earth far from the final goal for SpaceX or NASA.

SpaceX is just 18 years old. It's smaller and leaner than others. Its workforce is on average 20 years younger than NASA's. According to government audits, Wednesday's flight will be millions of dollars cheaper than either the Russians or Boeing, Musk's American competitor. But it doesn't appear to be the win he's ever been satisfied with.

Again from that 2009 interview, Oberg asked Musk if he saw the company going further than the ISS. Musk answered, "It's not out of the question." It never was.

Musk now has his sights set on Mars.

WATCH: SpaceX Interplanetary Animation

"The fast way to do it is to drop thermo-nuclear weapons on the planet," Musk told host Stephen Colbert in 2005.

He hasn't talked about nukes much lately, but hasn't stopped thinking about taking humans to Mars.

On a windy night in September in Boca Chica, Texas, Musk unveiled his 'Starship,' a 390-foot tall stainless steel rocket Musk is hoping will be the prototype of a vehicle that will get to the moon and Mars beyond it.

READ ALSO: How to watch Wednesday's NASA/SpaceX launch from Kennedy Space Center

Musk bases much of that effort from the SpaceX outpost in Boca Chica, between Brownsville and South Padre Island, but not necessarily in Houston.

SpaceX has just a small office and handful of employees in Space City. From his outpost in south Texas, Musk wants to put a million people on Mars by 2050, with flights going out three times a day.

Earlier this month, Musk told Joe Rogan he was selling all of his homes to get rid of distractions and focus on space exploration.

"Does it really make sense for me to spend time designing a house, getting OCD on the details or should I be allocating that time to getting us to Mars?" Musk asked himself. "I should probably do the latter."

So when we cheer the launch tomorrow, don't think for a second the guy behind it is taking a rest.

Follow Ted Oberg on Facebook and Twitter.

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SpaceX launch: SpaceX vision goes well beyond space station - KTRK-TV

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Expedition 63 to the International Space Station began in April 2020, after the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft arrived at the orbiting lab with NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy (left) and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin (center) and Ivan Vagner.

The three-person Expedition 63 will be joined by NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who will arrive May 28 with the first crewed test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. If all goes well with SpaceX's demonstration mission, the first operational Crew Dragon flight could bring three more crewmembers to the space station before the end of Expedition 63, which is scheduled to last until October. See photos of the Expedition 63 mission in this Space.com gallery.

Related: A photo tour of the International Space Station

The Expedition 63 prime crewmembers pose for a photo at the Garagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, on Nov. 12, 2019. From left: NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

The official insignia for Expedition 63.

Prior to their scheduled April 9, 2020 launch, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, the prime crewmembers for Expedition 63, arrive at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for qualification exams on March 11.

The Expedition 63 backup crewmembers NASA astronaut Steve Bowen and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrei Babkin pose for photos in front of a Soyuz trainer on March 11, 2020.

Expedition 63 prime crewmembers pose with the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft during pre-launch training activities at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. From left: Ivan Vagner, Anatoly Ivanishin and Chris Cassidy.

As the prime crewmembers flew to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the trio affixed their mission insignia on the wall of the plane on March 24.

At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Kazakhstan, Expedition 63 crewmembers, both prime and backup, participate in pre-launch activities. From left to right are Chris Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner, and backup crewmembers Andrei Babkin, Sergey Ryzhikov and Steve Bowen.

On April 9, 2020, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and his Russian crewmates Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos, journey from building 254 to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz MS-16 carrying NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner approaches the International Space Station while orbiting over the coast of Peru, on April 9, 2020.

Once aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 crewmembers pose for photos with Expedition 62 crewmembers after Roscosmos' Oleg Skripochka (bottom right) handed over station command to NASA's Chris Cassidy (bottom left). Expedition 62 returned to Earth on April 17, 2020.

Above Skripochka are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan. On the left, above Cassidy, are Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

On board the International Space Station on April 16, 2020, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy shows a meal packet left for him by European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, who returned to Earth Feb. 6, 2020. Cassidy and Parmitano were crewmates during the Expedition 36 mission in 2013.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Antaoly Ivanishin, Expedition 63 flight engineer, practices remote spacecraft maneuvering techniques in the Zvezda service module on the Tele-Operated Robotics Unit (TORU), which enables a cosmonaut to dock a Russian spacecraft manually.

Expedition 63 flight engineer Ivan Vagner practices remote spacecraft maneuvering techniques in the Zvezda service module on the Tele-Operated Robotics Unit (TORU).

Expedition 63 Cmdr. Chris Cassidy connects water umbilicals and checks for leaks in the Combustion Integrated Rack at the International Space Station. This research device allows for safe fuel, flame and soot studies to be conducted in microgravity.

Inside the Quest airlock of the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Cmdr. Chris Cassidy of NASA cleans does routine maintenance on the U.S. spacesuits.

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In photos: The Expedition 63 mission to the International Space Station - Space.com