The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) congratulates the SpaceX and NASA teams on the safe return to Earth of Crew Dragon this morning. The importance of what has been accomplished during the successful Demo-1 mission cannot be overstated. Today, we are a major step closer to flying humans to space again from American soil on American rockets and providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

AIAA is the world’s largest and most influential aerospace technical society, and our members have been involved in nearly every advancement in modern U.S. aerospace—the NASA Commercial Crew program is no exception. As aerospace professionals, our collective excitement and pride grew with each mission milestone that was achieved. Teamwork has been the foundation for all that we have accomplished in aerospace, and AIAA celebrates the entire Crew Dragon team on an extraordinary Demo-1 mission!