This is the first time that SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk in 2002, is attempting to launch astronauts into space.
President Donald Trump said he will travel to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to attend the historic NASA and SpaceX launch next week, local outlet WESH-TV reported. "Our destiny, beyond the Earth, is not only a matter of national identity, but a matter of national security," Trump said, according to the outlet.
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are slated to launch inside SpaceX's new Crew Dragon spaceship atop a Falcon 9 rocket on May 27. This would be the first time that SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk in 2002, is launching astronauts into space — and the first time in nearly a decade that Americans will be flown to space on US soil. It'd also the first time NASA is sending astronauts into orbit aboard a spacecraft built by a private company. According to Politico, Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida urged Trump to attend. Waltz said Trump was"fired up" after a discussion they had on"the importance of the event to the evolution of the US space program," Politico reported. "With everything going on, the relaunch of America, the relaunch of our economy, the relaunch of Florida, the symbolism I think is really exciting," Waltz, who plans to fly aboard Air Force One from Washington with Trump for the event said, according to Politico. The astronauts will live on the space station for about three months, then return to Earth in a space capsule, and finally parachute into the Atlantic Ocean, Business Insider reported. Story continuesOn Thursday during an impromptu meeting with the press, Trump also joked about sending reporters into space, The Hill reported. "I'm thinking about going, that'll be next week, to the rocket launch," Trump said when asked about the launch at a press conference on Thursday."I hope you're all going to join me. I'd like to put you in the rocket and get rid of you for a while."
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Trump says may attend SpaceX manned rocket launchPresident Donald Trump on Thursday said he could attend next week&39;s launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon craft in Florida, the first manned space flight from US soil in nearly a decade. Two US astronauts on the Crew Dragon will take off May 27 from Kennedy Space Center with help from SpaceX&39;s Falcon
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Trump to attend Musk's SpaceX launch in Florida next weekTrump plans to travel to Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday to witness the launch of the first Americans into space in nearly a decade
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Trump will attend the historic NASA and SpaceX astronaut launch in Florida next week - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
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