The Internet is Thrilled by Historic SpaceX Launch

After weather conditions scrubbed Wednesday's attempt, the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Saturday with the historic SpaceX and NASA launch marking the first time in nearly a decade that American astronauts made their way skyward propelled from American soil by a rocket built in the United States. The stunning moment, which was livestreamed by NASA's YouTube channel as well as covered across social media and on news outlets around the world held the internet's attention as the Falcon 9 rocket sent astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley toward their ultimate destination on the International Space Station and now social media has lit up with reactions from those thrilled at the successful milestone moment.

On Saturday, May 30th at 3:22 p.m. ET, the Crew Dragon spacecraft launched into space on a Falcon 9 rocket with 1.7 million pounds of thrust from its first stage engines. For many watching at home, the moment was a deeply emotional one. Many people took to Twitter to share that the launch event had moved them to tears while others expressed great excitement and relief that the launch had gone off successfully, noting that there was finally something positive about 2020 to celebrate in a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic, murder hornets, civil unrest, and more.

And while the initial launch has gone off seemingly without a hitch, the excitement continues. NASA will continue to live stream the mission through the post-arrival news conference on Sunday. You can check out the live stream in the YouTube embed above, the full schedule for coverage of the event below, and keep reading to see how thrilled the internet is at Saturday's successful SpaceX/NASA launch.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images