Astronauts Arriving For NASA's 1st Home Launch In A Decade

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The two astronauts who will end a nine-year launch drought for NASA are on their way to Kennedy Space Center, exactly one week before their historic SpaceX flight.

NASA test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken departed Houston on Wednesday aboard a NASA jet, bound for Florida.

They're scheduled to blast off next Wednesday from the same pad where the space shuttle last soared in 2011. That was the last home launch for NASA astronauts. This time, a private company -- SpaceX -- is providing the lift.

NASA's commercial crew program has been years in the making.

In:
• Kennedy Space Center
• Mars
• NASA
• SpaceX