What to know about the Dragon and Falcon 9published at 09:44 GMT
09:44 GMT
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SpaceX’s Elon Musk first revealed the Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2014, six years before it first took astronauts into space
The four crew members will be making their way to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is being propelled by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The Falcon 9 will launch the the crew into orbit, before detaching from the Dragon capsule and returning to Earth – where it will land to be re-used another day.
The Dragon will then use its own engines to meet up with and dock to the space station.
Since 2020, SpaceX has been Nasa’s main provider of transportation to the ISS. The company is operating as part of the space agency’s Commercial Crew programme, which replaced the retired Space Shuttle through flights by private companies.
The Crew Dragon makes routine visits to the International Space Station and has been used for both Nasa and private missions.
