SpaceX’s crewed test flight will set the tone for NASA’s future crewed launches from US soil. The space agency has been in desperate need of a way to launch astronauts into space without relying on Russia’s Roscosmos to sell seats aboard its own rockets. SpaceX and Boeing were both hired by NASA as part of the Commercial Crew Program to develop spacecraft capable of safely sending astronauts to the International Space Station on a regular basis. In the early days of the race between the two companies, Boeing appeared to be leading the charge. Unfortunately, a series of mishaps and delays has given SpaceX a sizeable lead and, pending the successful crewed test flight in May, the company will indeed be the first to meet NASA’s demands. This mission will be the first in a series of regular, rotational flights to the station following NASA’s certification of the new crewed system following completion and validation of SpaceX’s test flight with astronauts, known as Demo-2. This test is expected to take place in mid-to-late May as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. With the ongoing public health crisis sweeping the globe, it’s hard to say just how realistic any of these dates really are. It’s a complicated situation, and NASA has already had to delay some things and send its staff home from many of its centers. Nevertheless, the agency says that the SpaceX test launch is indeed still on schedule, at least for the time being. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that nothing changes on that front. Tech. Entertainment. Science. Your inbox. Sign up for the most interesting tech & entertainment news out there. Email: