SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flew over Nigeria on way to Space Station

Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has said the US SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched on Saturday into space flew over Nigeria’s airspace on its way to Space Station.

In a video by National Aeronautics and Space Administration posted on the minister’s Twitter page, a commentator could be heard saying the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flew over Nigeria’s airspace.

“SpaceX just flew over Nigeria on its way to the Space Station,” Sirika said on Twitter on Monday night.

“Future Aviation coming closer!”

Two veteran NASA astronauts headed for the International Space Station on Saturday after Elon Musk’s SpaceX became the first commercial company to launch a rocket carrying humans into orbit, ushering in a new era in space travel.

SpaceX’s two-stage Falcon 9 rocket with astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard blasted off flawlessly in a cloud of bright orange flames and smoke from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center for a 19-hour voyage to the space station.

“Let’s light this candle,” Hurley, the mission commander, told SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, before liftoff at 3:22 pm (1922 GMT) from NASA’s storied Launch Pad 39A.

The SpaceX launch is the first of American astronauts from US soil since the space shuttle program ended in 2011 and the first crewed flight ever by a private company.

“I’m really quite overcome with emotion,” Musk said.

“It’s been 18 years working towards this goal.”

“This is hopefully the first step on a journey towards civilization on Mars,” the SpaceX founder said.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said it was a “great day” for NASA and SpaceX and an “important milestone for the nation.”

He said the mission would only be celebrated when the astronauts return safely to Earth in a few months’ time.

“We’re not celebrating yet,” Bridenstine said.

“We will celebrate when they’re home safely.”