SpaceX launches astronauts into orbit for the first time

SpaceX has carried out the first crewed launch of its Crew Dragon spacecraft. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida with NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board.

It is the first crewed launch from US soil since 2011 and the first time in history that a private company has carried people to orbit. After the Space Shuttle programme ended, American astronauts flew to the ISS only on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Docking with the International Space Station is scheduled in about 24 hours. The Demo-2 mission is meant to confirm that the spacecraft is ready for regular flights.

The rocket's first stage landed successfully on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. President Donald Trump watched the launch.