NASA says the manned SpaceX launch is a step toward going back to the moon and getting to Mars. It’s also tied to U.S. national security as China challenges American dominance in space.

James Morhard, the deputy administrator of NASA since 2018, told the Washington Examiner that the launch scheduled for Saturday, after the first attempt was scrubbed earlier in the week due to stormy Florida weather at Cape Canaveral, is about “leading the beginning of a space revolution — and who leads in space will lead the world.”