SpaceX launches NASA astronauts on recycled rocket for first time

NASA and Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX made history Friday, propelling a team of astronauts into orbit on a recycled rocket and capsule previously used on a space mission.

The spacecraft took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Friday morning and is headed to the International Space Station — where they will begin a six-month stay. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launched into the dark, pre-dawn sky atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled by its nine engines. The 5:49 a.m. blastoff was aired live on NASA TV.