WATCH: NASA SpaceX Demo-2 mission to launch astronauts to International Space Station

Two American astronauts embarked on the first manned mission to outer space from U.S. soil in nearly a decade on Saturday, formally ushering in a new era of space flight in which private companies — not the government — will send humans into orbit. Aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule are astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken, two veterans of the now-retired Space Shuttle Program who are set for an extended stay on the International Space Station (ISS). Exactly how long they will stay has yet to be de