DOUG HURLEY

Former NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. honor reserved for spaceflight veterans.

Two trailblazing former NASA astronauts will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor on Tuesday (Jan. 31), and you can watch the ceremony live.

The last time the medal was awardedm to Robert Crippen, the pilot of the first space shuttle flight, was in 2006.

Now you can dress like an astronaut, or at least your feet can, with limited edition socks of the Osom Brand style used by Doug Hurley on the International Space Station.

Bob Behnken is retiring from NASA after a pioneering 22-year career that includes three spaceflights, including SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission.

NASA on Wednesday announced the award of five more astronauts missions to Elon Musk's SpaceX.

With years of delays, News 6 has asked NASA's senior vehicle operations manager many times about the possible rollout dates and launch windows.

SpaceX's new recovery ships "Bob" and "Doug" sailed into Port Canaveral this month and are named for NASA astronauts.

After a historic career, astronaut Doug Hurley retired from NASA Friday.

The final space shuttle mission, which launched 10 years ago this week, almost didn't happen.

Sunday marks one year since humans returned to space during the historic SpaceX Demo-2 launch.

Transactions between Elon Musk's companies have been relatively small so far, but SpaceX appears to be buying increasingly more parts and services from Tesla.

Choose how you want to watch the Crew-2 launch from Cape Canaveral.

NASA and SpaceX announced Thursday the launch date will move from April 20 to no earlier than Thursday, April 22. Also this week, Boeing and NASA announced they are evaluating a new launch date for the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft’s orbital test flight-2, or OFT-2. “Based on the current traffic at the space station, NASA does not anticipate that OFT-2 can be accomplished later in April. NASA and Boeing are working to find the earliest possible launch date,” the agency said. AdWhen it does launch, Starliner will dock at the ISS and return to Earth for its final test before NASA, hopefully, approves the spacecraft to fly astronauts.

A 37-year-old businessman has bought four tickets to space with SpaceX and plans to take along three everyday people with him all while raising money for sick children. After the all-civilian spaceflight crew is announced, Isaacman plans to train with them, including some team bonding. “I am going to ensure that I introduce some very uncomfortable and stressful situations here on Earth long before we go up in space,” Isaacman said. Since NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley’s historic spaceflight, the Crew Dragon has now shuttled four other astronauts to the ISS with plans for two more astronaut launches this year for NASA and its international partners. Axios Space recently announced it has purchased a private spaceflight from SpaceX and four international businessmen will fly in Crew Dragon in early 2022.

The SpaceX Demo-2 mission is the first crewed launch of an orbital spaceflight from the U.S. in nearly a decade. The DOJ last week asked Wilner to order SpaceX to comply with a subpoena demanding that the space exploration company provide information and documents related to its hiring and employment eligibility verification processes. The subpoena would require the production of confidential personnel records of more than 3,500 employees, SpaceX has said. Hutter is not a U.S. citizen, but according to a document filed by SpaceX in response to the DOJ subpoena hs is a "lawful permanent [U.S.] resident holding dual citizenship from Austria and Canada." In that case, Wilner ruled in favor of the EEOC's subpoena to a janitorial services company accused of discriminating against three workers.

Friday’s postponement news came after SpaceX chief Elon Musk disclosed he had gotten mixed test results for COVID-19 and was awaiting the outcome of a more definitive test. “I can assure everyone that we’re looking good for the (crew) launch and all of the critical personnel involved,” said SpaceX’s Benji Reed, senior director for human spaceflight. “So ‘Elon Musk Tests Negative for Covid’ is an equally correct title,” he tweeted. The upcoming crew flight comes just three months after the end of the test flight with Hurley and Bob Behnken, both NASA astronauts. NASA and SpaceX are especially eager to retrieve this first-stage booster; it will be used for the next crew launch.

Space travel is powered by data and lots of it. Space dads Bob and Doug are back from their historic journey, its time to let the data do the talking. CBS News space correspondent Bill Harwood said all the info now has to be analyzed before we can declare Dragons mission a success. Its going to be a full-up mission to the international space station. Right now NASA has targeted late September for SpaceX's next crewed mission.

In this frame grab from NASA TV video, astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Doug Hurley wave during a news conference, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, in Houston. The two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown carried out by Elon Musk's SpaceX company. (NASA TV via AP)

The two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown carried out by Elon Musk's SpaceX company. Two days after returning from the International Space Station, NASA’s Bob Behnken described in vivid detail their wild ride home. “Once we descended a little bit into the atmosphere, the Dragon really, it came alive,” Behnken said from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. SpaceX became the first private company to send astronauts into orbit with the May 30 liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, ending a nine-year launch drought from home soil for NASA astronauts. It was the first splashdown for NASA astronauts in 45 years.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will talk about their historic return home from the International Space Station on Tuesday for the first time since their SpaceX spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. Hurley and Behnken launched on the SpaceX Dragon capsule, nicknamed Endeavour, from Kennedy Space Center on May 30, arriving on the International Space Station the next day. After more than two months in space, the duo journeyed back to Earth in the SpaceX spacecraft in about 19 hours. It was the first spacecraft splashdown in 45 years. The launch, docking and splashdown marked the final test flight for SpaceXs astronaut capsule before NASA can issue a certification for regular flights for its astronauts.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from South Santee River, South Carolina, to Surf City, North Carolina. "We are forecasting it to become a hurricane before it reaches the coast this evening," senior hurricane specialist Daniel Brown said. Authorities were getting ready in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, ordering swimmers out of the water to avoid rough surf and strong rip currents. Were from Michigan, so we get snow and go through it all," Aliyah Owens, who arrived in Myrtle Beach for a summer vacation Sunday, told WTBW-TV. Anything that can move we tie down or bring inside, Philo told The Sun News of Myrtle Beach.

Most Florida-run testing sites have been closed since last week when forecasts put most of the state in then Hurricane Isaias path. For context, all last week the state reported more than 87,000 people tested per day. With the states largest testing sites now closed for five days, Florida reported a drop in testing by 26,000 tests per day. Because testing numbers dropped significantly beginning July 30 when many testing sites closed deaths and hospitalizations are important factors to monitor. Below is a breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Central Florida by county.

SpaceX returned two NASA astronauts to Earth Sunday in a dramatic splashdown avoiding a tropical storm and safely returning the pair known as the “space dads” home. The splashdown marked the first by NASA astronauts in 45 years and the first with a commercial spacecraft. SpaceX Dragon capsule being pulled onto the Go Navigator recovery boat in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 2, 2020. Private vessels in the splashdown area were told to leave as they attempted to approach the SpaceX spacecraft. After being the last to leave the capsule, Hurley thanked everyone involved in the mission.

(Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken successfully returned to Earth for the first splashdown in 45 years Sunday in their SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. The splashdown went as planned and landed into calm seas at 2:48 p.m.Welcome back to Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX, mission control told the astronauts. The milestone completed the SpaceX Demo-2 test mission for Dragon, the first test flight with astronauts to the International Space Station. Heres a timeline of the events prior to and after splashdown:1:51 p.m. Crew Dragon performs claw separation. 2:32 p.m. Crew Dragon maneuvers to attitude for re-entry: Dragon experiences significant heating and drag as it re-enters Earths atmosphere, which slows the velocity to the point of safe parachute deploy.

The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year. Welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX, said Mission Control from SpaceX headquarters. It was the first time a private company launched people into orbit and also the first launch of NASA astronauts from home turf in nearly a decade. SpaceX already had experience hauling cargo to the space station, bringing those capsules back to a Pacific splashdown. SpaceX needs six weeks to inspect the capsule before launching the next crew around the end of September.

The astronaut pair were the first to launch on the SpaceX spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center on May 30 to the International Space Station, marking the first human spaceflight from U.S. soil since 2011. About a dozen private vessels in the splashdown area were told to leave as they attempted to approach the SpaceX spacecraft. Outside of those vessels Coast Guard boats should be the only other ones in the area for 10 miles. On Sunday, the private boats could be seen surrounding the recovery effort on the NASA livestream. The lesson learned here is we probably need more Coast Guard assets, maybe some more SpaceX and NASA assets as well, Shotwell said.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Bands of heavy rain from Isaias lashed Florida's east coast Sunday while officials dealing with surging cases of the coronavirus kept a close watch on the weakened tropical storm. Authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites, lashing signs to palm trees so they wouldn't blow away. In Indian River County, north of West Palm Beach, Florida, emergency shelters were clearing out Sunday after Isaias was downgraded to a tropical storm. A tropical storm warning was in effect from Hallandale Beach, Florida, to South Santee River, South Carolina, and for Florida's Lake Okeechobee. Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Cody Jackson in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Julie Walker in New York contributed.

In this image from video made available by NASA, astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken prepare for undocking from the International Space Station, aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. (NASA via AP)

In this image from video made available by NASA, astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken prepare for undocking from the International Space Station, aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020. Space station commander Chris Cassidy rang the ship's bell as Dragon pulled away, 267 miles (430 kilometers) above Johannesburg, South Africa. The astronauts' homecoming will cap a mission that ended a prolonged launch drought in the U.S., which has relied on Russian rockets to ferry astronauts to the space station since the end of the shuttle era. The flag — which also flew on the first shuttle flight in 1981 — became a prize for the company that launched astronauts first. The next SpaceX crew flight is targeted for the end of September.

Space station commander Chris Cassidy rang the ship's bell as Dragon pulled away, 267 miles (430 kilometers) above Johannesburg, South Africa. "It's been a great two months, and we appreciate all you've done as a crew to help us prove out Dragon on its maiden flight, Hurley radioed to the space station. The astronauts' homecoming will cap a mission that ended a prolonged launch drought in the U.S., which has relied on Russian rockets to ferry astronauts to the space station since the end of the shuttle era. In launching Hurley and Behnken from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 30, SpaceX became the first private company to send people into orbit. The next SpaceX crew flight is targeted for the end of September.

This image made available by NASA astronaut Bob Behnken on Friday, July 31, 2020, shows him inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. SpaceX and NASA plan to bring Behnken and Doug Hurley back Sunday afternoon, aiming for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida Panhandle. (NASA via AP)

This image made available by NASA astronaut Bob Behnken on Friday, July 31, 2020, shows him inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. SpaceX and NASA plan to bring Behnken and Doug Hurley back Sunday afternoon, aiming for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida Panhandle. (NASA via AP)

Astronauts returning in the early 1970s from Skylab, NASA’s first space station, did not feel well following splashdown, Hurley noted. Feeling sick “is the way it is with a water landing,” he said during the crew’s final news conference from the International Space Station. The capsule has been docked at the space station since May 31, allowing Hurley and Behnken to chip in with spacewalks and experiments. The plan is for the Dragon to undock from the space station on Saturday, a day before splashdown. “We won’t leave the space station without some good landing opportunities in front of us, good splashdown weather,” Behnken told reporters.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Potential 60 mph wind gusts won’t bode well for a SpaceX spacecraft splashdown planned for this Sunday if the current track of a potential tropical storm holds but NASA officials say the plan to return the astronauts this weekend is still on. SpaceX and NASA teams will be looking at wind speed, wave height, rain, lightning and helicopter operational limits. Seven potential Crew Dragon landing sites. “The NASA team and the SpaceX team remain ‘go’ for return,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said opening up the media briefing after the FRR. NASA and SpaceX will make the final decision Saturday after the astronauts are inside the capsule just before undocking from the space station.

ORLANDO, Fla. Two NASA astronauts are preparing to become the first to complete their spaceflight on SpaceXs new Dragon spacecraft nicknamed Endeavour but Hurricane Isaias may foil those plans. Unfazed by the weather woes, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken told reporters Friday if their planned splashdown off Floridas coast in Dragon Endeavour gets delayed they have plenty of chow and work to do on the International Space Station. NASA and SpaceX officials said there are no issues following a flight readiness review earlier in the week. Theres more chow and I know the space station programs got more work that we can do for those (principal investigators) and other folks that have sent science up here to the space station, Behnken said. Behnkens wife NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will fly on the same Dragon Endeavour spacecraft next year.

On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and head home after a two-month flight. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Tropical weather barreling toward Florida could delay this weekends planned return of the first SpaceX crew. On Wednesday, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and head home after a two-month flight. SpaceX is already preparing to launch a second crew to the space station at the end of September. NASA wants six weeks between the splashdown and the launch of the next Dragon crew, for capsule inspections and reviews.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Astronauts squeezed in one last spacewalk Tuesday before turning their attention to the all-important end to SpaceXs first crew flight. NASAs Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy floated out of the International Space Station on their fourth and final spacewalk in under a month. It was the 10th spacewalk in each of their careers, tying the U.S. record set by previous space station residents. SpaceX is aiming for a splashdown off the Florida coast in August the first splashdown for astronauts in 45 years. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said once Tuesday's spacewalk is finished, the astronauts are going to be focused like a laser on coming home."

They were the first to hitch a ride to the International Space Station on Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon. SpaceX and NASA are targeting September for the next launch of Dragon with astronauts from Kennedy Space Center. On Friday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said SpaceX and NASA are targeting Aug. 1 for a departure of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour by its passengers, and a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 2. NASA has paid the Russian space agency about $84 million a seat to fly its astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX and Boeing were selected in 2014 to develop American-made spacecraft to take over transporting NASA astronauts to space.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The commander of the International Space Station said Monday that losing a mirror during last weeks otherwise successful spacewalk was a real bummer.NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy said he has no idea how the small mirror on his left sleeve came off. The band for the mirror is on pretty tight, he noted, and it may have caught on a metal tether attachment as he exited the airlock Friday. That was a real bummer for me.Hell use a spare for Wednesdays spacewalk, the second of four he and NASA astronaut Bob Behnken will do to replace old station batteries. Spacewalking astronauts wear a mirror on each sleeve to see the displays on their chest control panel. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education.

Two NASA astronauts did some home maintenance Friday on the orbiting laboratory 200 miles above Earth during a seven-hour spacewalk. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy ventured out of the International Space Station Friday morning to install batteries outside the station. Once outside, the astronauts began work on one of two power channels on the far starboard truss of the station. https://t.co/SN3Y9zOMwr — NASA (@NASA) June 26, 2020As he stepped out of the ISS, Cassidy lost a small mirror on his spacesuit adding to the millions of pieces of junk orbiting the Earth. While millions of pieces of space debris orbit Earth, more than 20,000 items including old rocket parts and busted satellites are big enough to be tracked in order to safeguard the space station and functional satellites.

This photo provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and NASA Flight Engineer Bob Behnken during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday, June 26, 2020. Cassidy and Behnken, are conducting the first of at least four spacewalks to replace the last bunch of old station batteries. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and NASA Flight Engineer Bob Behnken during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday, June 26, 2020. Cassidy and Behnken, are conducting the first of at least four spacewalks to replace the last bunch of old station batteries. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A spacewalking astronaut added to the millions of pieces of junk orbiting the Earth on Friday, losing a small mirror on his sleeve as soon as he emerged from the International Space Station for battery work. Cassidy and Bob Behnken hustled through the first of four planned spacewalks to replace the last bunch of old station batteries. The spacewalkers also paid tribute to NASA's space station program manager, Kirk Shireman, retiring Friday after 35 years to go into private industry.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will take part in a set of spacewalks outside the International Space Station to begin replacing batteries for one of the ISS’ power channels, according to the space agency. The first of the two walks is set to begin around 7:35 a.m. on June 26, NASA officials said in a news release. Cassidy, the commander of Expedition 63, and Behnken, who joined the crew onboard the ISS last month after arriving on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon with veteran NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, will depart the Quest airlock for both spacewalks, NASA said on its website. As extravehicular crew member 1 for both spacewalks, Cassidy can be identified during the walks as the astronaut wearing the spacesuit with red stripes, NASA officials said. NASA officials said the walks will mark the seventh and eighth spacewalks for each astronaut and the 228th and 229th performed for space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.

Amateur astronauts, private space stations, flying factories, out-of-this-world movie sets this is the future the space agency is striving to shape as it eases out of low-Earth orbit and aims for the moon and Mars. But the future is incredibly exciting, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren said the day before SpaceXs historic liftoff. The ticket price which includes 15 weeks of training and more than a week at the space station is about $55 million. Beginning in 2024, Axiom plans to build its own addition to the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) outpost to accommodate its private astronauts. SpaceX still has to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken safely back to Earth this summer in its Dragon capsule.

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – The SpaceX rocket booster used to launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on their mission to the International Space Station, making history by being the first private rocket to do so, headed back into Port Canaveral Tuesday. The Falcon 9 rocket booster landed at sea on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You about 10 minutes after launching the Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit Saturday afternoon. The SpaceX launch marked the first time a private company has launched humans to orbit and the first time Americans have launched from U.S. soil since 2011. The first stage is what returned to Port Canaveral Tuesday. [EXCLUSIVE: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk officially launched humans to space -- here’s what he’s planning next]Full Screen 1 / 9 The SpaceX Falcon 9 booster used to launch two NASA astronauts to orbit returns to Port Canaveral via droneship on June 2, 2020.

CORRECTS TO NASDAQ, NOT NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE - In this image from video made available by NASA, astronaut Chris Cassidy, right, rings the opening bell of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange accompanied by fellow astronauts Robert L. Behnken, left, and Doug Hurley in the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The astronauts launched into orbit by SpaceX joined in the ringing of the opening bell for the Nasdaq on Tuesday to mark a pivotal moment" for the space economy. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken took part in the ceremony from the International Space Station, three days after their launch by Elon Musks company. The two astronauts floated alongside space station commander Chris Cassidy as he rang a ships bell to open trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Their image, along with live-streamed pictures of other NASA staff, lit up the Nasdaq marquee in New York's Times Square.

The flag flew on the first space shuttle flight in 1981 and the final one in 2011. The flag was an added incentive for Elon Musk's SpaceX company and Boeing, competing to be the first private company to launch a crew to the space station. The crew will include Chris Ferguson, commander of the last shuttle flight who now works for Boeing. The Dragon capsule, also built and owned by SpaceX, docked at the space station Sunday. The capsule will serve as their lifeboat during their space station visit.

When NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley blasted off Saturday to the International Space Station, they waived goodbye to their wives and children, not knowing when they’ll return back to Earth. Both men are married to fellow astronauts and each have a young son at home waiting for them. Behnken’s son Theo is 6 while Hurley’s son, Jack, is 10. [EXCLUSIVE: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk officially launched humans to space -- here’s what he’s planning next]The veteran astronauts last launched in 2011, before Theo was born and when Jack was only 1 year old. “That was a super cool thing for us to get the chance to do for both of our sons,” Behnken said.

After becoming the first NASA astronauts to launch from Florida in nine years, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are reflecting on how flying in their previous spaceship, the space shuttle compares to their new ride built by SpaceX’s the Crew Dragon spacecraft. (Image: Greg Scott) (WKMG 2020)Both Hurley and Behnken said launching on Falcon 9 was very different than the space shuttle. [MORE COVERAGE: Sparkling dinosaur makes journey with NASA astronauts to International Space Station]How’s the bathroom situation? Image above of space shuttle toilet on display at Johnson Space Center in Houston. On Sunday, the astronauts could see the bright light of Crew Dragon as it began to approach.

After launching from Kennedy Space Center Saturday, the astronauts had about 19 hours in the spacecraft before reaching their destination. Prior to launch, Hurley and Behnken said they didnt know how the restroom situation was because they didnt have the experience with it to say. [MORE COVERAGE: How Crew Dragon compares to flying on space shuttle from the first NASA astronauts to do both | How the astronauts sons are coping with their dads in space]Lets see the toilet. NASA: The toilet on the orbiting space station is even more antiquated ((Image: NASA))Its done just absolutely spectacularly, you know, its a very clean vehicle, Hurley said. The fascination with what the astronauts eat and the Dragon commode might speak to everyone because we all eat and we all, you know.

The two astronauts will fly on a SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. Once on board the space station, Hurley said the capsule, newly named Endeavour after the retired shuttle, handled extremely well. He was the pilot on the last U.S. spaceship to visit the space station — the last shuttle flight, by Atlantis, in July 2011. Until Saturday, SpaceX had launched only space station supplies or satellites. Even so, getting the two astronauts safely to orbit and then the space station had everyone breathing huge sighs of relief.

A Return to SpacePublished: May 31, 2020, 9:26 amAstronauts are safely in orbit after the sweetest launch for the SpaceCoast in nearly a decade.

ORLANDO, Fla. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken approached their new temporary home in orbit Sunday morning after zipping around Earth to catch up to the International Space Station. Applause could be heard from SpaceXs mission control in Hawthorne when the hard capture of Crew Dragon at station was confirmed just before 10:30 a.m. Its been a real honor to be part of this nine year endeavour since the U.S. docked a spaceship at the International Space Station, Hurley said with a thumbs up, thanking NASA and SpaceX teams. Already on board station, NASA astronauts Chris Cassidy was keeping an eye on the new spaceship as it approached the orbiting laboratory. Behnken and Hurley will spend anywhere between one to four months on the International Space Station.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have joined American Chris Cassidy and two Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station. Later on in the week youll have a chance to see the bright dot, also known as the ISS, zip across the night sky. Friday and Saturday will be the best times, weather permitting, to see the ISS flyover Central Florida. Saturday no doubt offers the best time to see the ISS pass by weather permitting. Saturday presents the best opportunity to see the ISS weather permitting.

It will be the first astronaut launch from NASAs Kennedy Space Center since the last shuttle flight in 2011. (SpaceX via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken join NASA’s exclusive inner circle by catching a ride on a SpaceX rocket and capsule. Their destination is the International Space Station, where they’ll spend one to four months before guiding their capsule to a splashdown in the Atlantic. Wife Karen Nyberg, a former space station resident, retired two months ago from NASA. As joint operations commander, he'll oversee the Dragon’s rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.

We’re back in the race,” as the SpaceX rocket lifted through clouds above Kennedy Space Center. Saturday's launch was the first of NASA astronauts from Florida since 2011, when the space shuttle program ended, and the first by a private company. Many spectators had been there just days earlier on Wednesday for the first launch attempt, which was scrubbed due to the weather. At Space View Park in Titusville, few spectators wore masks and there wasn't much social distancing. “Now look at all the people who are here seeing astronauts leave from U.S. soil.”___Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter: @MikeSchneiderAP

News 6 is giving you a view of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launch from just about every angle. Saturday is SpaceX’s second try as the private company and NASA work to usher in a new age of space travel with the Demo-2 launch. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are set to take off at 3:22 p.m., weather willing. [READ MORE | Live launch updates: SpaceX set to launch NASA astronauts on Crew Dragon | Timeline: Here’s what NASA astronauts are doing on launch day]If Behnken and Hurley take off, it will mark the first time in nine years NASA astronauts will lift off from the Space Coast. SpaceX and weather officers are also closely watching the launch forecast and conditions in the Atlantic Ocean for recovery conditions in case of a launch abort.

SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk celebrates inside the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building after his company successfully launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to orbit on May 30, 2020. Behnken and Hurley are veteran astronauts, with 1,400 spaceflight hours between them. During live commentary of the launch SpaceX engineer Lauren Lyons said the astronauts are known as the dads by their team. [MORE COVERAGE: NASA astronauts wave goodbye to families in 2nd attempt to launch SpaceX Crew Dragon]The launch marks the beginning of a new era in U.S. human spaceflight, one shouldered by NASA and commercial companies like SpaceX instead of by the American taxpayer alone. Welcome aboard the @SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft!

For the first time in nearly a decade, astronauts will blast into orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil, a first for a private company. SpaceX becomes the first private company to launch people into orbit, a feat achieved previously by only three governments: the U.S., Russia and China. The first attempt to launch the rocket, on Wednesday, was called off with less than 17 minutes to go in the countdown because of lightning. Thanks for the great ride to space, Hurley told SpaceX ground control. A SpaceX capsule exploded on the test stand last year.

The Falcon 9, with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on top of the rocket, is scheduled to liftoff from Launch Pad 39-A Saturday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. SpaceX pressed ahead with its second attempt to launch astronauts for NASA a historic first for a private company but more stormy weather threatened more delays. Elon Musks company came within 17 minutes Wednesday of launching a pair of NASA astronauts for the first time in nearly a decade from the U.S., before the threat of lightning forced a delay. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said managers were debating whether to bump the next launch attempt from Saturday to Sunday to take advantage of a slightly improved forecast at Kennedy Space Center. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex reopened Thursday, after a 2 1/2-month shutdown, and within a few hours, all 4,000 tickets were snapped up for Saturdays launch attempt.

SpaceX and NASA will possibly try again as soon as Saturday at 3:22 p.m., if the weather cooperates. After launch, Behnken and Hurley are bound for the International Space Station where they will spend one to four months before returning to Earth. But with two days between launch attempts, whats an astronaut to do while they wait to go to space? Heres what SpaceX astronauts listened to on their way to the launch pad]Behnken shared a photo on social media of that new tradition a day before the first SpaceX launch attempt. Between launch days, Lindgren said the astronauts are getting briefings from SpaceX and NASA about the health of the Falcon 9 rocket and the weather.

Elon Musks SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule will make that historic achievement. With SpaceX, NASA will be paying about $55 million a seat to fly NASA astronauts, according to a NASA Office of Inspector General report. Countdown Dress Rehearsal CompleteToday, @NASA astronauts @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken participated in a dress rehearsal of the launch day events. The last president to attend an astronauts launch from Florida was President Bill Clinton. NASA also recently selected SpaceXs Starship, along with several other commercial companies, to fly NASA astronauts to the moon under the Artemis program.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. With just hours left until NASA attempts to launch its first crewed mission into space in nine years, heres a look at what launch day will look like for astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. This is when NASA says the astronauts will wake up, eat a hearty breakfast and go through their final medical checks before launch. 1:00 p.m.Behnken and Hurley begin suiting up and preparing to head to the launch pad. The astronauts depart to Launch Pad 39A, once the home of the Space Shuttle program, and board the Crew Dragon space capsule, which sits atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. 4:33 p.m.Instantaneous launch attempt for the Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. After a nearly nine-year remission, its launch day for NASA astronauts from Kennedy Space Center again as SpaceX prepares to become the first private company to send humans into orbit and onto the International Space Station. Elon Musks private company SpaceX is set to launch two NASA astronauts onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft on a mission known as Demo-2. After liftoff, Crew Dragon will take 19 hours to fly to the International Space Station. Veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are the lone passengers onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft. As part of NASAs commercial crew program, the U.S. space agency selected SpaceX and Boeing to develop spacecraft to fly NASA astronauts.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A SpaceX rocket is ready to boost two NASA astronauts into orbit Wednesday, the first launch of Americans from the U.S. in nearly a decade. Riding aboard the brand new SpaceX Dragon capsule for the historic flight: veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. SpaceX is controlling the vehicle, theres no fluff about that, said Norm Knight, a NASA flight operations manager. The last time astronauts launched from Florida was on NASAs final space shuttle flight in July 2011. Development of SpaceXs Dragon and Boeings Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is hoping the first launch of American astronauts from U.S. soil in nearly a decade will give the nations spirit a boost after months of battling the coronavirus. Its the latest visit to an important 2020 battleground state as the president emerges from his White House bubble and expands his travel itinerary. Trump is encouraging states to loosen restrictions on economic activity put into place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A Quinnipiac University poll last month found older Florida voters divided on Trumps handling of the coronavirus outbreak, with 47% saying they approved and 50% disapproving. Vice President Mike Pence got to Florida ahead of Trump and was to meet with the astronauts families and NASA officials before the launch.

The two astronauts are set to travel on the SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)TITUSVILLE, Fla. For the spectators gathered along the Space Coast on Wednesday for an astronaut launch, the rumbling thunder and darkening clouds were more worrisome than any pandemic. They turned out to watch the first launch with astronauts from Florida in almost a decade, and the first by a private company, SpaceX. About half of the spectators at the Titusville park wore masks as encouraged by health officials to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. I wanted them to see the flip side and get to see the next era of space travel," said Gatz, who lives about an hour away in Deltona.

Veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were set to make history Wednesday afternoon, riding SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the International Space Station on a test flight. On the eve of the launch, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said from Kennedy Space Center that both the space agency and SpaceX have been diligent about making sure everyone in the launch loop knows they're free to halt the countdown if there's a concern. SpaceX has been launching cargo capsules to the space station since 2012. NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station, after commercial cargo shipments had taken off. Development of SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner capsules took longer than expected, however, and the U.S. has been paying Russia to launch NASA astronauts in the interim.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Ahead of SpaceXs Demo-2 launch with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, launch fans can see live views of the Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center leading up to the historic countdown. [CHOOSE THE VIEW: ClickOrlando.com Watch Party Page]On News 6 and ClickOrlando.coms watch party page youll have a one-of-a-kind viewing experience of the historic NASA and SpaceX launch, which will send astronauts back into space from U.S. soil for the first time since 2011. [WATCH LIVE: News 6]SpaceX is set to launch the Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A at 4:33 p.m. Wednesday. The ClickOrlando.com watch party page has several unique views of the rocket on the pad and will also include the News 6 virtual watch party in the hours leading up to the launch. Subscribe to a weekly newsletter to receive the latest in space news directly to your inbox here.