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Today in History: Crew Dragon Demo-2 makes historic commercial ISS debut

5/30/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On May 30 2020, SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission aboard a Falcon 9, sending NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. The flight marked the United States’ first crewed orbital launch since 2011, the first commercial mission to the ISS, and secured human-rating certification for the spacecraft.

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Story summary

On May 30 2020, SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission aboard a Falcon 9, sending NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station. The flight marked the United States’ first crewed orbital launch since 2011, the first commercial mission to the ISS, and secured human-rating certification for the spacecraft.