Astronauts strap into SpaceX capsule before launch day

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken strapped into the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Saturday to rehearse Wednesday's expected launch to the International Space Station.

They will become the first astronauts launched from American soil since the U.S. space shuttle program was terminated in 2011.

The two arrived in Cape Canaveral last week and said they'd spend some time with their families at the beach before their mission to space.

On May 27th, they're set to blast off on the commercial space vehicle to help the short-handed crew aboard the ISS for more than a month, and swap out the station's batteries.

The use of the state of the art technology from Elon Musk's SpaceX is part of NASA's flagship campaign to use the private sector for ISS missions and curb its reliance on Russia's Soyuz rocket.

Musk is also the CEO of

Class="kln">Tesla, and new for Wednesday's launch ceremony will be a pre-departure transfer to the launch pad by the electric car company.

"I'm thinking about going." Among those who may attend the launch is U.S. President Donald Trump, who has reportedly been given the green light to go and watch.