Video: SpaceX launches first mission of 2020 (members only)

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be geared up for the long haul when they launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft later this month, but they won’t know exactly how long they will be in orbit until they are already aboard the International Space Station.

The mission featured the launch of the next 13 Starlink satellites that included Direct to Cell capabilities. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 11:39 a.m. PDT (2:39 p.m. EDT, 1839 UTC).

The U.S. Space Force says it will launch two GPS navigation satellites on reused Falcon 9 boosters next year through a restructured contract with SpaceX that saved taxpayers $52 million, the first time the military has agreed to fly operational national security payloads on previously-flown rockets.