Ready for launch

FLORIDA, USA, 30 MAY

On 30 May, after a delay of three days, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched the first crewed mission from US soil in nine years, following the end of the Space Shuttle programme in 2011. The Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station approximately 19 hours later, making SpaceX the first private company to launch humans into orbit.

In this image, astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken leave the Operations and Checkout Building and head towards SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.