SpaceX set to send astronauts into space in its first operational crewed flight

For Nasa, it marks the beginning of using private firms as a “taxi service” to fly its crew to and from the space station

Crew-1 astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi. Picture: Nasa/SpaceX

SpaceX is set to send four astronauts into low-Earth orbit as part of its first operational crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS).

The crew, consisting of one Japanese and three US astronauts, is scheduled for lift-off shortly after midnight on Sunday, on a rocket and capsule system built by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s aerospace company.