SpaceX launches Uncrewed Craft Designed to Ferry Astronauts to Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts-off with the first crew-rated Dragon on Mar. 2 (SpaceX)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A giant leap in launching astronauts from the United States began on Saturday as a commercial rocket lifted off from America's Space Coast with a space capsule designed to fly crews to and from Earth orbit.

As NASA paves the way for humanities voyages to the moon and Mars in the coming decade, the SpaceX Crew Dragon will be used as a space taxi to ferry NASA crews to and from the International Space Station. A successful docking and return with a splashdown in the Pacific this week will set up for the first crewed mission this summer.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into a clear midnight sky from the Kennedy Space Center's historic launch pad 39-A at 2:49 a.m. EST (March 2). Following a flawless launch, the Crew Dragon separated from the Falcon's upper stage 11-minutes later to begin a 27-hour voyage to the orbiting laboratory.