The American astronauts Robert Behnken (49) and Douglas Hurley (53) are on Saturday evening (German time) successfully launched into space. You are on the way to the International Space Station. One of them has a special reason for joy: Elon Musk (48). The two men sit in a rocket from his company SpaceX.
A special mission for the USA
It is the first time in nine years that a manned space mission has started again from Cape Canaveral in Florida. With "Crew Dragon" the US wants to solve its dependency on Russian "Soyuz" capsules.
Not only Elon Musk was there live, US President Donald Trump (73) and his Vice Mike Pence (60) had come to Florida. Striking in Corona times: They all did not wear protective masks at the appointment, as photos show. Trump has a big goal: The United States should become number one in space, as he said in Florida.
The spectacle was followed worldwide, including a celebrity congratulations: pregnant singer Katy Perry (35) shared a video of the successful rocket launch on her official Instagram account and sent "Congratulations" to everyone involved "after so many years of hard work" .