US President Donald Trump has celebrated the successful launch of a manned “Crew Dragon” to the International Space Station as a “heroic act”.
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US President Trump described the start of the manned “Crew Dragon” mission as “the bold and triumphant return of the United States to the stars”.
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(sda / dpa)
It was more than a “historical fact,” Trump said on Saturday after watching live the launch of two U.S. astronauts from Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Florida. “We saw a heroic act.”
The start marked the “bold and triumphant return to the stars for the United States,” Trump said. US astronauts have been flying the “Crew Dragon” for the first time in almost nine years – space travelers Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley from the USA to the ISS. And for the first time, with SpaceX, a private provider is transporting space travelers on behalf of the US space agency Nasa. The astronauts were expected on the ISS on Sunday. The US President thanked them.
Commercial space travel is the future, Trump said. “A new era of American ambition has just begun.” Even the United States cannot hold back gravity. “We have created something that will draw the envy of the world, and we will soon land on Mars, and we will soon have the best weapons you could ever imagine in history.” With the successful start, the USA would have “regained its prestigious position as the leader of the world”. “We will ensure the continued dominance of the United States in space.”
Trump again underlined his government’s plans to bring astronauts back to the moon by 2024. However, many space experts doubt whether this will be possible in time.
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