THIS DAY IN HISTORY: NASA Astronauts Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken Make History Aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Spacecraft
By Space Coast Daily // May 30, 2025
May 30, 2020
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – On May 30, 2020, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken made history as the first humans to launch aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, marking a pivotal moment in American spaceflight.
Their Demo-2 mission, which lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was the first crewed launch from U.S. soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
The successful mission not only restored domestic human launch capability for NASA but also opened the door to a new era of commercial space travel. Hurley and Behnken spent two months aboard the International Space Station before safely returning to Earth in August 2020, proving the Crew Dragon’s capabilities and ushering in a new chapter of U.S. crewed spaceflight.
Since the Demo-2 mission, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has become a workhorse in NASA’s human spaceflight program.
In the five years since its debut, the spacecraft has flown ten operational NASA missions—under the Commercial Crew Program—as well as five commercial missions, including private astronaut flights and partnerships with international space agencies.
The legacy of Hurley and Behnken’s flight continues to shape the future of space exploration, demonstrating the viability of public-private collaboration and establishing a reliable, reusable system for sending astronauts to orbit from American soil.
