---
title: "NASA Clears SpaceX Crew Dragon Mission for Liftoff"
description: "NASA just cleared SpaceX the go-ahead for its historic launch scheduled for May 27. \"We are go for launch!\" NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted."
date: "2020-05-22"
modified: "2020-05-22"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-clears-spacex-crew-dragon-mission-liftoff"
categories:
  - "Crew Dragon"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "crew dragon"
  - "NASA"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Clears SpaceX Crew Dragon Mission for Liftoff

![NASA just cleared SpaceX the go-ahead for its historic launch scheduled for May 27. "We are go for launch!" NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/nasa-clears-spacex-crew-dragon-mission-liftoff.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Cleared for Liftoff

NASA [just gave](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/science/spacex-nasa-launch.html>) SpaceX the go-ahead for its historic launch scheduled for May 27.

The plan is to send NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station using the company's Crew Dragon capsule, lifted by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is slated for 4:33 pm Eastern from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

## Flight Readiness

If successful — and the [weather plays along](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-high-chance-human-launch-pushed-back>) — the demonstration launch could mark the first time astronauts have been sent to space from American soil in nearly a decade.

"We are go for launch!" NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote in [a tweet](<https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1263893323078656002>). "The Flight Readiness Review has concluded and NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon mission is cleared to proceed toward liftoff."

## Readiness Review

The news comes after NASA's head of human spaceflight Douglas Loverro [mysteriously resigned](<https://futurism.com/nasa-leader-mysteriously-resigns-after-unspecified-scandal>). Loverro was meant to lead the readiness review for the Crew Dragon mission, [according to *The New York Times*](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/science/spacex-nasa-launch.html>). He did, however, claim in a [number of interviews](<https://www.space.com/why-nasa-human-spaceflight-chief-doug-loverro-resigned.html>) that his departure had nothing to do with next week's SpaceX launch.

SpaceX has already demonstrated the [flight worthiness](<https://futurism.com/spacex-crew-dragon-dock-iss>) of its Crew Dragon spacecraft last spring, albeit without any astronauts on board.

**READ MORE:** [SpaceX Gets Go-Ahead for NASA Astronaut Launch Next Week](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/science/spacex-nasa-launch.html>) \[*The New York Times*\]

**More on the mission:** *[SPACEX SAYS “HIGH CHANCE” HUMAN LAUNCH WILL BE PUSHED BACK](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-high-chance-human-launch-pushed-back>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)