The Planetary Society Celebrates Successful Crew Dragon Launch

Pasadena, CA (May 30, 2020) — The Planetary Society, the world’s largest independent space interest organization, issued the following statements celebrating today’s successful launch of the Crew Dragon:

“Congratulations to NASA and SpaceX on today’s exhilarating launch! We’re thrilled to witness this new era of human spaceflight.

NASA’s commercial crew program, and the experiment with public-private partnerships, is the result of smart policy decisions made by the agency and White House leadership a decade ago. It succeeded due to the hard work and ingenuity of the teams at SpaceX and NASA, and the bravery of the astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley who rode its first crewed mission into space.

NASA and SpaceX have opened a new avenue to send humans to low-Earth orbit and we look forward to their safe return. We hope today’s launch excites people everywhere about the remarkable era of space exploration ahead of us.”

Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society, added:

“SpaceX made history today and joined an exclusive club—one previously occupied solely by national space agencies. A US-built Falcon 9 rocket, launched from the historic Kennedy Space Center, took two astronauts to the International Space Station. The mission is a product of the public-private partnership: a private company rocket, launched from and to government-built facilities. Our future in space looks even brighter today.”

Press Resources

• Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate and Senior Space Policy Adviser, is available for interviews. Please arrange with Danielle Gunn, chief communications officer, at [email protected]
• Your Guide to Crew Dragon's First Astronaut Flight
• Analysis: NASA's Commercial Crew Program is a Fantastic Deal
• Your Guide to Commercial Crew
• Your Guide to the International Space Station
• Planetary Radio interview with transcript: The Crew Dragon Countdown Begins With Former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver
  A conversation with former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, who was one of the strongest advocates of commercial space development in her days at NASA.
• Planetary Radio interview with transcript: Crew Dragon Deep Dive with Astronaut Garrett Reisman
  SpaceX consultant and former astronaut Garrett Reisman shares his excitement and inside knowledge about the Crew Dragon mission and its groundbreaking spacecraft.