SpaceX uses the Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Crew Dragon crew capsule (the simulator is shown here) into the ISS orbit.
NASA announced that SpaceX’s first crew flight to the International Space Station will take place in June 2019. It will be the first manned American launch to the orbital research laboratory since 2011, when the space shuttle program resigned, forcing Americans to use expensive trips on the Russian spacecraft Soyuz.
The flight on a Boeing spacecraft is set for August 2019. The launch schedule for both companies was postponed several times, but NASA said on October 4 that it would regularly update the schedule. The new reporting process will increase the information content, but the dates may still change as you get closer to launch. Both missions are considered test: two astronauts on each flight will spend two weeks onboard the ISS before returning to Earth. In the long term, NASA plans to use SpaceX and Boeing to deliver astronauts to the station in regular missions for 6 months. SpaceX will perform a test (no crew) flight in January 2019, and Boeing - in March 2019.
SpaceX uses a Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon capsule to launch. Boeing has a Starliner ship delivered by an Atlas-5 rocket. NASA depends on the success of these missions, as the contract with the Russian space agency expires in November 2019.
