News Space SpaceX’s astronaut launch marks a milestone for commercial spaceflight It’s also the first mission to send humans into orbit from the U.S. since NASA stopped in 2011 In the first crewed launch of a spacecraft from the United States since the shuttle program ended in 2011, two NASA astronauts lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 30. NASA Share this:EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPocketRedditPrint By Lisa Grossman May 27, 2020 at 4:37 pm Updated May 30, 2020 at 3:55 pm For the first time, humans are hurtling into Earth’s orbit on a commercial rocket.