The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft arrived Florida on Sunday as NASA prepares for its first Commercial Crew Programme. It would also be the first SpaceX operational flight with astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission called Crew-1 is currently slated for a late October launch.

Space X had signed a $2.6 billion contract with NASA in 2014 for the collaborative mission. The flight will carry four astronauts- NASA’s Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japanese spaceflyer Soichi Noguchi.

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The Commercial Crew Program has worked with several American aerospace industry companies to aid the development of US human spaceflight systems since 2010. The aim of the mission is to have safe, reliable and cost-effective travel to and from the International Space Station with the help of commercial players.

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NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to transport crew to the International Space Station from the United States. While the SpaceX mission has got a launch date, Boeing’s Starliner is not yet ready to fly astronauts. It will test its flight later this year.