BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Spacex's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket have gone vertical at Kennedy Space Center.
- Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 vertical at KSC
- SpaceX is gearing up for a demonstration flight
- The goal is to send astronauts to space from U.S. soil
The private space company tweeted the news Friday night.
"Preparing to return human spaceflight capabilities to the United States, Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 went vertical at historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida.
The capsule and rocket will undergo a series of fit checks ahead of a planned demonstration flight to the International Space Station. The initial launch will be uncrewed, designed to showcase the Crew Dragon's capabilities.
The test flight is targeted for January 17, but Elon Musk has hinted that it could happen closer to February. No official announcement has been made.
The Crew Dragon mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which is designed to send astronauts into space from the U.S. Astronauts have not launched into space from U.S. soil since the space shuttle program ended in 2011.