I’ve always been fascinated with space exploration. There’s something very awe-inspiring about it. And something very human in our curiosity to know and push the boundaries of what is possible. If you ask my brother what my favorite book is, he will likely sigh heavily before telling you that it is “The Martian.” I’ve read it over 35 times at this point. When I was stationed in Orlando, we could often see the unique corkscrew contrail patterns from a launch from Cape Canaveral.

I was excited to hear that NASA and SpaceX were going to be launching the first American astronauts on an American rocket from American soil since 2011. The launch took place today at 3:22 pm EDT, and I was able to watch online! There’s a lot more information about the mission on the NASA website.

There was just something about this launch that grabbed at my heart, similar to how I feel during every Olympic Games when the whole world comes together. I loved hearing the wishes of “Godspeed!” for the astronauts. During a post-launch interview with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, he was asked what his thoughts and feelings were at the moment of the launch. He replied, “I was praying!”

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 31, 2020, at 10:29 am EDT, the Crew Dragon spacecraft with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley is scheduled to dock wit the International Space Station. You can watch the docking live here on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.

*Images courtesy of NASA.