SpaceX’s spaceship Dragon launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 15, 2020 with four astronauts on board. Its main goal is to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station on a relatively consistent basis.

Since SpaceX is a commercially owned company, it does not have the same limitations as NASA. Vice President Mike Pence, who attended the launch, was amazed by how far technology will be able to take humankind.

“A new era in human space exploration in America,” says Pence.

The Crew Dragon docked with the ISS on Monday, November 16th with only a few minor problems along they way. The crew, including astronaut Mike Hopkins,  joined two Russians and one American already aboard the ISS.

“I remember getting up there and you’re just kind of pinching yourself,” Hopkins says of past excursions.

One experiment the astronauts will study during their six months aboard the ISS is is a study on how microgravity affects human heart tissue. This study will help future astronauts learn the long term affects of living with no gravity.

SpaceX owner Elon Musk hopes to not only make scientific discoveries, but also open space exploration to a variety of people. Musk wants to open space to not just astronauts and potentially wealthy people, but everyone.

“What I’m trying to do is, is to make a significant difference in space flight. And to help make space flight accessible to everyone,” says Musk.