SpaceX and NASA successfully launched four astronauts to orbit Sunday night (11-15-2020). This is SpaceX's first fully operational astronaut launch, marking the beginning of regular missions to the International Space Station
One of the astronauts is Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The others, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker are from the U.S. Dr. Walker who is a Rice graduate. The SpaceX capsule, called "Resilience" will travel in orbit just over 24 hours. Then the astronauts will land at the International Space Station and start their six month stay. They will be studying the effects that certain diets have on people in space.