Gone are the days of NASA's quaint astronaut transport buses.
Later this month, two of NASA's finest will drive a sleek white Tesla Model X out to a launchpad before embarking on a history-making mission with SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, who's also the CEO of Tesla.
On May 27, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are scheduled to climb aboard SpaceX's new Crew Dragon spaceship, which will launch to orbit atop a towering Falcon 9 rocket. If successful, the Demo-2 test flight would mark SpaceX's first-ever mission with people — and the return of American spaceflight after NASA shuttered its space shuttle program nearly a decade ago.
On Wednesday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine unveiled the official astronaut transport vehicle for SpaceX's all-commercial space mission.
"Here's some news that everyone should love. Check out the Model X that will carry [Behnken] and [Hurley] to the launchpad for the Demo-2 mission!" Bridenstine tweeted, sharing four photos of the car (shown above and below).
Weather and other conditions permitting, Behnken and Hurley will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at 4:33 p.m. ET on May 27. If there's a last-minute issue, though, the crew will attempt to launch on May 30.
Once in space, their Crew Dragon ship will make its way to the International Space Station, where it will stay up to 110 days before bringing the two astronauts back to Earth.
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