A BLAST OF HOPE
Amid riots and disease, space launch gives Americans a moment of pride
The Falcon 9 rocket soared above the turbulent Earth Saturday after a successful liftoff at Cape Canaveral. The launch by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, with an assist from NASA, was historic — the first manned commercial space flight ever, and the first space launch from American soil since 2011.
Two American astronauts in a pioneering rocket called Falcon 9 soared above the planet’s deadly chaos on Saturday to open up space to private enterprise.
President Trump, at Cape Canaveral to watch the majestic late-afternoon launch of the first-ever manned commercial space flight, celebrated it as a much-needed symbol of inspiration and American achievement in a troubled time.
“Together we will assert America’s rightful heritage as the greatest spacefaring nation on the planet,” he said. “The world has not yet seen the full glory of the American spirit.”
Tesla automaker and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with an assist from NASA, was behind the historic launch of the Demo-2 mission.
“It was incredible,” NASA astronaut Douglas Hurley radioed launch control. “I appreciate all the hard work and thanks for a great ride to space.” He was accompanied by fellow spaceman Robert Behnken for the ride into orbit and the International Space Station.
It was the first manned space flight from US soil since 2011.
Until now space had been the province of governments in the US, China and Russia. The SpaceX project changed that, and is also key to Trump’s promise to return astronauts to the moon by 2024.
“I’m so proud of the people, of NASA, public and private,” Trump said. “When you hear that sound — the roar — you can imagine how dangerous it is.”
The Crew Dragon capsule will link up with the ISS after about 19 hours, on Sunday, as it orbits 250 miles above the Earth. Though the capsule is designed to fly automatically, the two astronauts will steer it manually prior to docking at the station.
NASA says it won’t decide how long Hurley and Behnken stay at the station until they get there, and that it could be several weeks, even months. They will run unspecified experiments and may try a spacewalk. They carried no special cargo.
When Hurley flew on the last shuttle mission, in 2011, the crew carried a flag to the ISS. He left it there with word that no one should bring it back to Earth until the next time a manned rocket launched from Florida. When Behnken and Hurley arrive at the station, they will “capture the flag” and bring it back home.
“This is the most hands-off NASA has ever been and it’s been difficult for them to step back,” Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told The Post. “But a lot is riding on the privatization of the space program.”
Musk’s success means that NASA won’t have to concern itself with mundane low-orbit space travel and can focus on “gearing up for another trip to the moon and beyond,” McDowell said. It also ends America’s dependence on Russian rockets as the sole means of getting to the space station since the shuttle program ended in 2011.
“I think this is such a great inspiration for our country,” Trump said. “Our country is doing well . . . We suffered something that was terrible,” he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The president also used the occasion to plead for national unity after days of violent demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody.
“We are working toward a more just society, but that means building up, not tearing down,” Trump said.
“Moments ago, as we witnessed the launch of two great American astronauts into space, we were filled with the sense of pride and unity that brings us together as Americans.
“When Americans are united there is nothing we cannot do.”