Live coverage: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches NASA’s Psyche on mission to a metal asteroid

In the home stretch of nearly a half-year on the International Space Station, four astronauts suited up and rode their SpaceX-owned Crew Dragon “Resilience” spaceship to a new docking port outside the orbiting research lab Monday, a first-of-its kind maneuver for the new generation of commercial crew spaceships.

Kathy Lueders, NASA’s newly appointed head of human spaceflight operations, said Thursday that without a crystal ball, she could not give a yes-or-no answer when asked whether she believes NASA can put astronauts back on the moon by the end of 2024 as called for by the Trump administration.

The mission also broke SpaceX’s record number of orbital launches achieved in 2023. Liftoff happened at 2:10 a.m. EDT (0610 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.