[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] Donald Trump, President of the United States, described the dawn of the era of private manned spacecraft in the U.S. as "just the beginning."
On the 30th (local time), according to AFP, President Trump watched the launch of the manned spacecraft 'Crew Dragon' by SpaceX, a private space company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and responded, "Unbelievable. This is just the beginning."
He said, "This is truly something special," adding, "It will be one of the most important things we have ever done. No one does it like we do."
President Trump arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the launch site, by his private plane and watched SpaceX launch the 'Crew Dragon' at 3:22 p.m.
The launch, named 'Launch America,' was recorded as the first manned spacecraft launch from American soil in nine years. Additionally, SpaceX, a private company, became the protagonist announcing the beginning of the private space exploration era by launching a manned spacecraft for the first time.
The United States, after NASA ended the Space Shuttle program in 2011, has been preparing for the era of private spacecraft by contracting with SpaceX and Boeing.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon was launched successfully. About 10 minutes after launch, the Crew Dragon separated from the rocket and began its spaceflight to dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The launch vehicle, Falcon 9 rocket, landed safely at the designated landing site.
NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley (53) and Robert Behnken (49) were aboard the Crew Dragon, and they are scheduled to dock with the ISS, orbiting 400 km above the Earth, 19 hours later.
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