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<b>Now: </b><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/31/spacex-nasa-docking-international-space-station/" target="_blank"><b>Follow live coverage of the Dragon capsule, now known as ‘Endeavour’, docking with the International Space Station.</b></a>

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The United States opened a new chapter in its grand adventure in space Saturday, when a SpaceX rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying two astronauts to orbit from United States soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

It was a historic moment for SpaceX, which became the first private corporation to launch people into orbit, and for NASA, which has struggled to regain its footing after retiring the Space Shuttle in 2011, leaving the U.S. no option but to rely on Russia to ferry its astronauts to space for as much as $90 million a seat.

Both President Trump and Vice President Pence, the chair of the National Space Council, were in attendance to mark a new era of space flight.

The flight was the the fulfillment of a risky bet by NASA under the Obama administration to entrust the private sector to fly astronauts.

For SpaceX, it was the climax of an improbable odyssey that began in 2002 when Elon Musk founded a space company with the goal of traveling to Mars.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:22 p.m. from pad 39A, the historic site from which the crew of Apollo 11 left for the moon, after a seamless countdown where the primary concern was inclement weather that on Wednesday had forced a postponement of the first launch attempt.

The Crew Dragon capsule, which separated from the booster on time 12 minutes into the flight, is expected to dock with the International Space Station shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday.

On board the spacecraft are two of NASA’s most experienced space travelers, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, both former military pilots who previously had each flown two missions on the Space Shuttle. But their ride to space this time was on a vastly different spacecraft, a fully autonomous, next-generation capsule outfitted with Tesla-like touchscreens and temperature controls that allow astronauts to keep the cabin at between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The launch came 3,250 days after the last shuttle mission blasted off.

Hurley, a retired Marine Corps Colonel, was a crew member on that last shuttle mission, which took off in July 2011, also from pad 39A. It was the end of the shuttle’s 30-year life span, and a devastating blow to an agency that suddenly had no way to fly its astronauts anywhere.

 Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley: The astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule

Despite repeated warnings by NASA to stay home because of the coronavirus, fans lined the beaches to watch a historic moment, but the space agency drastically limited attendance at the Kennedy Space Center.

Sunday’s docking will be handled autonomously by the spacecraft, though Hurley and Behnken have the ability to take over the controls manually if needed.

The mission, known as Demo-2, was a test flight designed to ensure the rocket and spacecraft can fly humans safely. Once complete, NASA and SpaceX would review the data and certify the spacecraft for additional missions that would regularly fly as many as four astronauts to the space station and back.

In 2014, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX, worth $6.8 billion combined, to design and build spacecraft capable of flying astronauts to the station. Previously, it had hired the private sector to fly cargo and supplies there. But outsourcing human space flight to companies was considered a risky and even reckless move in some quarters, even among NASA’s leadership. Along the way there had been a number of stumbles that delayed the first flights from 2017.

Boeing, the aerospace behemoth that had been by NASA’s side since the dawn of the Space Age, was considered the favorite to fly first. But it stumbled when the test flight of its Starliner spacecraft encountered trouble almost immediately upon reaching orbit. Boeing and NASA officials scrambled to fix software problems that prevented the spacecraft from reaching the space station and instead ending the mission early.

SpaceX also ran into a series of problems. In 2015, one of its Falcon 9 rockets exploded on a cargo resupply flight to the station. The next one, another rocket blew up, this time on the launch pad before an engine test. Then, last year, its Crew Dragon spacecraft blew up during a test of its abort engines.

But it has since investigated and remedied those failures to NASA’s satisfaction, and in the days leading up to the launch, the space agency praised the company many in the agency once looked upon skeptically.

NASA commercial crew astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken blast off from historic Launch Complex 39A aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the crew Dragon capsule bound for the International Space Station

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are on their way to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, but still have quite a way to journey.

Forty-nine minutes after launch, or at roughly 4:30 p.m., Hurley, Behnken and SpaceX flight engineers performed checks on Dragon’s Draco thrusters, adjust the spacecraft’s trajectory and begin an engine burn to align orbits with the International Space Station. Then the astronauts will get some well-earned rest, something NASA and SpaceX officials said was a priority given the high stress Hurley and Behnken have lived under since entering preflight quarantine more than two weeks ago.

Nine hours later, or after 1 a.m., Sunday, Dragon will burn its thrusters once more to better steer toward the space station, then perform two more burns almost two hours later.

Just before 10 a.m., Sunday, almost 18 hours after launch, Dragon will approach within 400 meters of the space station and begin an intricate docking steps. The spacecraft is supposed to perform those maneuvers autonomously, though Hurley and Behnken can step in to pilot the vessel if something goes wrong.

It takes about an hour for Dragon to advance from 400 meters to 20 meters from the space station, where it will stay for five minutes and prepare for docking. Another five minutes later, 19 hours and six minutes after launch, or just after 10:29 a.m., Sunday, Dragon will dock with the International Space Station, and Hurley and Behnken will climb aboard.

Jacob Bogage

NASA’s first human space launch in nearly a decade is a success. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard, separated from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage booster and entered a stable low-Earth orbit on its way to meeting the International Space Station.

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule: Watch the Falcon 9 booster land

The first booster of the Falcon 9 rocket has successfully landed on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, a positive sign as the rocket’s second-stage booster and Crew Dragon capsule continue their launch trajectory into orbit and toward the International Space Station.

The first booster of the Falcon 9 rocket has successfully detached. In several minutes, it should autonomously guide itself to land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket booster has ignited and lifted off from Kennedy Space Center launchpad 39A in Cape Canaveral Fla.

The liftoff does not constitute a successful mission, and instead begins a harrowing 12 minutes until the Crew Dragon capsule enters a stable orbit. In that time, the space craft must successfully detach from both of the Falcon 9’s rocket boosters, the first of which is supposed to land itself on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.

Dragon’s journey is far from complete. It has 19 hours to go until it will meet the International Space Station in orbit. The capsule must dock with the space station in an intricate, computer-controlled dance and allow astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to safely enter the International Space Station.

SpaceX officials are conducting final stage checks at the Falcon 9 Crew Dragon rocket prepares for liftoff at 3:22 p.m.

NASA officials have indicated that the weather appears to amenable for flight, and SpaceX flight technicians have readied the spacecraft for flight without a hitch, even moving slightly ahead of schedule.

Within the final 15 minutes before liftoff, Falcon 9 will chill its engines prior to launch and power will transition internally to the Dragon capsule away from the rocket’s support structure.

At one minute before launch, the command flight computer will begin its final prelaunch checks and the rocket propellant tanks will pressurize.

Forty-five seconds before launch, SpaceX launch director Mike Taylor will verify a go for launch and just three seconds before launch, the engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.

President Trump arrived at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., just before 3 p.m. Vice President Pence, chairman of the National Space Council, and second lady Karen Pence are also set to attend the Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch. First lady Melania Trump was scheduled to attend, but stayed behind in Washington.

Trump has made human spaceflight a priority of his first term. He turned the Air Force’s Space Command into the Space Force, its own branch of the military, and has pushed NASA to conduct a lunar landing mission by 2024 as a steppingstone to a mission to Mars.

Pence has said the U.S. will return to the moon <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mike-pence-boldly-sending-america-back-to-where-man-has-gone-before/2019/03/28/9e0a007a-5169-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_59" target="_blank">“by any means necessary.”</a>

Radar shows weather has cleared around the launch site and NASA announced at 2:35 p.m. that weather for liftoff is ‘go’.

Lightning and tall cumulus clouds which had earlier been in the vicinity of the launch pad have departed.

However, storms are lingering about 15 miles west of Cape Canaveral, along Interstate 95. Should these drift east, the launch could still be aborted. According to NASA, the chance of weather preventing launch is still 30 percent, but that’s a 20 percent improvement over the morning forecast assessment.

Showers and storms continue sweeping across the Space Coast. As of 1:45 p.m., the launch was no-go due to weather, according to NASA. However, the storm activity might exit the region by 2:30 p.m. or a little after, and conditions might improve enough to allow launch at 3:22 p.m.

At 2 p.m., <a href="https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar_lite.php?product=N0R&rid=MLB&loop=yes" target=_blank>weather radar</a> showed numerous showers and storms around Cape Canaveral extending west about 15 miles, to near Interstate 95.

The latest weather report from NASA television indicated ground and upper level winds are “go” for launch but that electric fields, lightning and cumulus clouds in the vicinity of the launch pad violate launch criteria. A weather briefing one hour before launch will update this assessment.

If all of the storm activity can clear the Space Coast before 3 p.m., and new storms don’t form behind it, the launch could happen. But it won’t be enough for storms to simply exit Cape Canaveral. The launch could be aborted if any of <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/649911main_051612_falcon9_weather_criteria.pdf">a dozen weather rules are violated</a> for various cloud, wind and precipitation scenarios, including the presence of tall clouds that trigger lightning within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad.

Jason Samenow

If weather postpones the flight again, the next available potential launch time is Sunday at 3 p.m., though the weather may not be any better. The Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 40-percent chance of bad weather. Future launch opportunities are Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

The flight has an “instantaneous launch window,” or a narrow period during which the International Space Station is lined up with the rocket’s flight trajectory. Any delay would cause the rocket to miss its desired flight path and not rendezvous with the station. So the launch must be on time.

SpaceX Launch Director Mike Taylor authorized flight engineers to begin loading propellants into the Falcon 9 boosters and Crew Dragon capsule at 2:29 p.m. Fuel for the Falcon 9 includes liquid oxygen, often called LOX, and RP-1, a refined, rocket-grade kerosene.

In moments, the crew access arm will retract from the spacecraft and SpaceX will arm Dragon’s launch escape system. Dragon can autonomously detect any signs of trouble with either stage of Falcon 9’s rocket boosters and shoot itself away to safety, like a cork popping out of a bottle of champagne.

SpaceX successfully <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/01/19/spacexemergencyabortttest/?itid=lk_inline_manual_79" target=_blank>tested the abort system </a>with an unmanned Dragon in January. The Falcon 9 booster was destroyed during the test flight, as expected, and Dragon, using built-in SuperDraco thrusters, glided away safely and landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.

As NASA TV lived streamed the preparations for the Space X launch, coronavirus concerns were on display in the masks that NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and others wore.

Both astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, have tested negative for coronavirus exposure. “And they’ve been in quarantine for more than 14 days,” NASA spokeswoman Megan Sumner said, referring to the standard pre-launch quarantine for astronauts.

The two men were applauded as they were driven to the launchpad. Among those cheering were NASA employees who are taking advantage of free coronavirus testing from a Florida department of health COVID-19 mobile testing lab.

Lori Rozsa

WHITE HOUSE

President Trump boarded Air Force One shortly after 1:30 p.m., to fly to Cape Canaveral to watch the Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch at Kennedy Space Center.

Trump and Vice President Pence visited Cape Canaveral on Wednesday for the first attempt at the launch, but bad weather forced officials to scrub the plans.

Speaking to reporters Saturday at Joint Base Andrews before stepping aboard the airplane, he said there was a “50/50 chance" the rocket would launch Saturday, citing uncertain weather forecasts.

“The weather is very delicate,” he said. “But it’s very amazing. So we’re going over and we’ll be back in a little while. We want to watch the rocket launch. NASA’s come a long way. It was dead as a door nail, but now it’s the most vibrant place in the world for that, so I look forward to it.”

From a command center in Warrenton, Va., a special team at the Federal Aviation Administration will be keeping a close watch on the historic launch of the first astronauts from U.S. soil in almost a decade. Two NASA astronauts are headed to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 booster.

With a growing number of companies seeking to commercialize space travel, the FAA has focused on developing new systems for more efficiently managing airspace. In the past, the agency may have had to close airspace for days around a launch site in preparation. Today while those closures may last only hours, they still can prove disruptive to air traffic. The FAA’s air traffic controllers coordinate up to 43,000 flights in the U.S. a day. At any given time, there can be 5,000 aircraft in the skies.

A FAA program known as the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/business/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-faa-air-traffic/?itid=lk_inline_manual_13&itid=lk_inline_manual_95">Space Data Integrator (SDI),</a> however, seeks to integrate commercial air traffic with commercial space traffic by allowing air traffic controllers to see rockets just as they do airplanes. The shift would mean the agency could monitor traffic with great accuracy, potentially reducing the length of time that airspace must be closed off for space launches.

Lori Aratani

Clouds were gathering in Cape Canaveral and <a href="https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar_lite.php?product=N0R&rid=MLB&loop=yes" target=_blank>weather radar </a>at 1 p.m. showed numerous showers and storms approaching the Space Coast from the west.

The storm activity, less than 10 miles from Cape Canaveral, is likely to sweep across the Space Coast over the next hour or so. Brief heavy downpours and gusty winds will accompany these storms.

It’s possible that, in the wake of these storms, there could be a calm period that coincides with the 3:22 p.m. launch. In fact, some high-resolution forecast models show a pause or lessening in the storms after 3 p.m.

HRRR

However, additional storms could also fire after this initial round and any tall clouds with strong electric fields in the vicinity could scrub the launch.

In a 1 p.m. interview on NASA television, administrator Jim Bridenstine, who was briefed on weather earlier in the day, said, “The question is what time do the thunderstorms go away?”

He continued, “We’re hoping that the weather will hold up. The trend is better today than it was Wednesday.

Space Force 45th Weather Squadron

SpaceX flight engineers closed the hatch to the Crew Dragon capsule at 1:09 p.m., with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside still nearly two hours from launch time.

Before the hatch was closed, SpaceX officials performed a communications check with the astronauts, rotated their seats back in the cabin to position Behnken and Hurley in front of a panel of touch-screen flight instruments and checked their flight suits for any leaks that could endanger the crew as atmospheric pressure changes.

In a little more than an hour, flight officials will begin loading propellants into the Falcon 9 boosters and Dragon capsule, and enable the capsule’s autonomous emergency abort system.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch two astronauts in the first human spaceflight from U.S. soil in nearly a decade abourd a Falcon 9 rocket. 

If the weather cooperates, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are about to fly together in one of the most important launches NASA has attempted in years: a crewed test flight of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.

The mission would be the first launch of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil since the space shuttle was retired in 2011 and the first by a private company to put people into orbit. It would be the culmination of a long journey — for NASA, for SpaceX and for a pair of the agency’s most seasoned astronauts, who have marched together in unusual lockstep to get to this point.

In the past, NASA’s astronauts may have been pitted against each other in ruthless competition for flight assignments, preening for the cameras and strutting their ego-fueled “Right Stuff” to orbit and back, always eager to get ahead. But Behnken and Hurley — Bob and Doug, as most everyone calls them — are more like a couple of self-effacing old pals, with an easygoing relationship shaped by a shared history that includes serving in each other’s weddings and having trained side by side for this mission for five years.

Christian Davenport

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley boarded the Crew Dragon capsule atop the Falcon 9 rocket booster at historic launchpad 39A at 12:35 p.m. Accompanied by a SpaceX flight crew and medical professionals, the astronauts walked down the access arm at the launchpad and through the “white room” — so named for the color of the walls — before Hurley climbed into the capsule followed by Behnken.

The flight crew boarded afterward to assist the astronauts in sealing their flight suits and strapping into the custom-built seats. SpaceX’s flight suits include an umbilical port that plugs in directly to the Dragon capsule and provides a link to all the garments features, including communication, pressurization and cooling and heating.

SpaceX flight engineers will check their communication system with the astronauts, then rotate their seats backward to position Behnken and Hurley before a panel of touch-screen flight instruments roughly two hours and 15 minutes before the scheduled launch at 3:22 p.m.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — What music would you listen to as you get ready to go to space?

For Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the NASA astronauts scheduled to launch into space Saturday afternoon, the answer was, well, an eclectic mix.

A couple of weeks before their flight, Behnken took to <a href="https://twitter.com/astrobehnken/status/1260779795522244609" target=_blank>Twitter </a>for suggestions, asking what tunes they should play in the Teslas that would take them to the launchpad. “@Astro_Doug and I are finalizing the music for our trip to @NASAKENNEDY’s launchpad 39A. Any suggestions?"

They got more than 500 responses. “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwQYy0kUTUk" target=_blank>Rocket Man</a>” by David Bowie was an obvious one. Homer Hickam, the author of “Rocket Boys,” suggested the theme song from the early 1980s TV series “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4JCehDOy54" target=_blank>The Greatest American Hero</a>.” Others suggested songs by Rush, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSMxY6asoE" target=_blank>The Eye of the Tiger</a>” from the “Rocky” soundtrack, and “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4WiyxXpyZc" target=_blank>Magic Carpet Ride</a>” by Steppenwolf.

In the end, they went with a variety, starting off with AC/DC’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgnJDJN4VA" target=_blank>Back in Black</a>” to get them fired up. Then “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NWKqE1Wl28" target=_blank>The Girl From Ipanema</a>,” as slow, elevator-like melody that serves as a reminder that so much of spaceflight is a “hurry up and wait” exercise.

Then, finally, a French-horn rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” A patriotic send off for the first human spaceflight to orbit from American soil in nearly a decade.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have walked out of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center and are on the way to historic launchpad 39A to board the Crew Dragon capsule.

NASA officials “handed off” Behnken and Hurley to the SpaceX flight crew about 45 minutes ago at the Armstrong Building where the two received a weather briefing, donned their custom-fitted spacesuits and took a selfie with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstein.

As they left the building, they and saw their families for the final time before launch and exchanged “virtual hugs,” thumbs up and blown kisses.

“Are you going to be on good behavior?” Behnken asked his young son, who nodded in return. “Are you going to listen to mommy and make her life easy?” His son nodded again.

“Let’s light the candle!” his son shouted.

The two astronauts boarded a custom Tesla Model X, outfitted with communications links to SpaceX engineers and a custom cooling system, with Behnken seated on the left and Hurley on the right. Their families approached the car and were able to briefly hold hands through the window.

Weather foiled Wednesday’s launch attempt and the Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron says there is a 50-50 chance weather will prevent Saturday’s launch as well.

As of midday Saturday, <a href="https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/radar_lite.php?product=N0R&rid=MLB&loop=yes" target=_blank>weather radar</a> showed the Space Coast clear of storms but also displayed widely scattered pop-up showers and storms developing 20 to 30 miles inland, drifting eastward.

High-resolution forecast models predict these showers and storms to increase in coverage and intensity toward the scheduled 3:22 p.m. launch time.

Weather to make Saturday’s SpaceX launch of NASA astronauts another nail-biter

These storms are like bubbles in a pot of boiling water, so determining when and where they form is difficult but they are likely to pose a significant hurdle for the launch effort. Some luck will likely be necessary to pull it off.

SpaceX launch postponed due to bad weather, Cape Canaveral, USA - 27 May 2020

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — President Trump is expected to return to Kennedy Place Center for Saturday’s launch attempt. He’s set to give a speech afterward, and once again that raises questions about whether NASA would feel compelled to go ahead with the mission given the high-profile attention.

In a news conference here Friday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine went out of his way to say that under no circumstances would compel a launch if conditions are not right. He pointed to Wednesday, when the launch was called off because for bad weather, as proof.

“We have all been in agreement there will be no pressure,” he said. “We will launch when we are ready. And I will tell you, the President and the Vice President were proud of the NASA team and the SpaceX team for making the right call for the right reasons. … We will go when we are ready. Safety is the biggest priority.”

Deputy NASA Administrator Jim Morhard paraphrased Deke Slayton, the legendary NASA astronaut and director of flight crew operations, and added: “A good scrub is better than a bad lunch any day.”

Cape Canaveral, Fla. — Let’s face it, spacesuits are often pretty ugly. During the shuttle era, NASA outfitted its astronauts in orange suits derided as “pumpkin suits” that astronauts complained made them look like traffic cones.

So when it came time for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/business/immersive-space-suits-history-fashion-and-function/?itid=lk_inline_manual_161">SpaceX to design new spacesuits of its own</a>, they went in an entirely different direction. Its suits are sleek and modern, a new look for a new age.

“This is a spacesuit every space tourist wants to wear,” said Robin Givhan, The Post’s fashion critic. “It is social-media friendly, you want to take selfies in that. Even the way the helmet is designed, with that black facade, is a little intimidating, but full Darth Vader.”

Musk said that the suit has to be practical, first and foremost. But the aesthetics played a big role, too.

“It has to look like the future,” he said in a recent interview with The Post. “If you’re a member of the public and you don’t necessarily know that much about rocket design or how spacecraft work. But you know if it looks cool, and if it looks futuristic, and aesthetically it seems like something new.”

He said it was important that the suits make a statement that they “feel like the future and that it seems exciting and appealing. You want kids to look at that spacesuit, and say, ‘I want to wear that spacesuit one day.’”

James Beard Award for Investigative Reporting,  finalist, 2023

Toner Prize for Excellence in National Reporting, finalist, 2021

Washington-Baltimore News Guild Headline Awards, first prize for sports reporting, 2020

Associated Press Sports Editors, first prize for breaking news, 2015

Associated Press Media Editors, first prize for sports feature writing, 2015

Missouri Press Association, first prize for business reporting, 2014

University of Missouri, BA in history

University of Missouri, BA in journalism

Jacob Bogage covers economic policy in Congress for The Washington Post, where he's worked since 2015. He previously covered business and technology and wrote for the Sports section.

Emmy Award, 2021. Peabody Award, 2010. On teams that were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, 2010 and 2011.

The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos (PublicAffairs, April 2018)

As You Were: To War and Back with the Black Hawk Battalion of the Virginia National Guard

Colby College, B.A., American Studies

Christian Davenport covers NASA and the space industry for The Washington Post's Financial desk. He joined The Post in 2000 and has served as an editor on the Metro desk and as a reporter covering military affairs. He is the author of "The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos" (PublicAffairs, 2018).

National Weather Association, Digital Seal of Approval

University of Virginia, BA in environmental science, 1998

University of Wisconsin, MS in atmospheric science, 2000

Jason Samenow is The Washington Post’s weather editor and Capital Weather Gang's chief meteorologist. He earned a master's degree in atmospheric science and spent 10 years as a climate change science analyst for the U.S. government. He holds the Digital Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association.

University of Florida

Lori Rozsa is a reporter based in Florida who covers the state for The Washington Post. She is a former correspondent for People magazine and a former reporter and bureau chief for the Miami Herald.

B.S. from Boston University 

Lori Aratani writes about transportation issues, including how people get around -- or don't. Her beat includes airlines and airports, as well as the agencies that oversee them.

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