Name: NASA SpaceX Crew-1 Mission Launch: How to Watch, Live Updates
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NASA SpaceX Crew-1 Mission Launch: How to Watch, Live Updates

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Update 11/15/2020 7:52 p.m. EST: We have lift-off! At 7:28 p.m. EST, Crew Dragon Resilience lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts aboard the spacecraft are now on their way to the International Space Station for a sixth-month mission.Shortly after launch, the first stage separated from the spacecraft and returned to Earth, where it stuck its landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.Just after sundown tonight, NASA and Japan's space agency, JAXA, will send four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule. If all goes according to plan, Falcon 9 will roar to life at 7:27 p.m. EST and lift off from Launch Complex 39a at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 🚀You love badass space stuff. So do we. The astronauts will suit up and leave for the launch pad around 4:00 p.m. EST. You can watch the livestream right here:This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.The mission has been delayed a number of times, first when engineers discovered an issue with the lacquer on one of SpaceX's Merlin engines (both NASA and SpaceX say they have identified the issue and are confident in the mission's success). The mission was delayed again this week due to poor weather conditions at the Cape.This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.According to a NASA update this morning, conditions for launch are 50 percent favorable. If the weather turns and conditions at the pad (or down-range off the Atlantic coast) sour, NASA and SpaceX are targeting Wednesday, November 18, as a backup date. NASA's Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walkerm and Victor Glover—as well as JAXA's Soichi Noguchi—will strap into their metal steed this evening and, pending good weather, set off for the ISS.Together, the astronauts of Crew-1 have a wealth of experience. Hopkins, the mission commander, joined the astronaut corps in 2009 and has spent a total of 166 days in orbit. Walker joined the astronaut corps in 2004 and spent 163 days in orbit during 2010's Expedition 24/25.Estes Destination Mars Colonizer Model Rocket Starter Set$69.99Estes Alpha III Rocket Launch Set$24.99Estes Tandem-X Flying Model Rocket Launch Set$39.73 (30% off)Estes 1413 Flying Model Rocket Launch Set Wacky Wiggler$49.99Estes LEPUSHPDJ123 Rockets 7246 Shuttle Model Rocket Kit$129.90Estes Sa-2061 Sasha Flying Model Rocket Kit$30.90Estes 1921 Mercury Redstone Flying Model Rocket Kit$30.70Estes 1948 Big Bertha Flying Model Rocket Kit$23.74Noguchi, meanwhile, has extensive experience in microgravity. He has flown on two missions: the STS-114 space shuttle mission in 2004 and Expedition 22/23, during which he spent 163 days in space. And Glover, who joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2013, will become the first black astronaut to live and work aboard the ISS for an extended period of time. This is his first mission to space.Relive Demo-2It'll be a full house when the crew arrives: NASA's Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are already aboard the ISS. Crew-1 is currently scheduled to stay for six months before they make the journey back home. The Crew-1 mission comes on the heels of May's historic Demo-2 mission, during which NASA and SpaceX launched astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS aboard a reusable, commercial spacecraft for the first time. It also marked the return of crewed spaceflight to American soil for the first time in nine years. After Behnken and Hurley splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in August, the real work began. Together, NASA and SpaceX pored over the data to get a better sense of how the mission went and identify which areas need improvement for Crew-1. There were two key concerns, according to SpaceX's Hans Koenigsmann, who spoke at a press conference earlier this year. First, the company bolstered a section of the capsule's heat shield, which suffered more intense abrasion upon reentry than expected. Next, SpaceX fixed an issue with one of the sensors designed to measure altitude and release the capsule's parachutes. This lengthy process cleared the way for Crew Dragon to be certified for launch.Tonight's launch is considered the first operational flight for SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule. The launch, however, will mark the 21st flight for Falcon 9 this year. (SpaceX its 100th successful launch on October 24.) For the past 10 years, NASA has paid more than $80 million per seat for a ride aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft. But through the Commercial Crew Program, which was developed during the Obama administration, the agency contracted SpaceX and Boeing to develop an alternate means of transportation to the ISS. NASA awarded SpaceX $3.1 billion to develop Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 and $4.8 billion to Boeing for its Starliner spacecraft. (Boeing hopes to conduct another test flight of its maligned spacecraft in January 2021.) In total, , SpaceX has been tapped to launch six operational missions to the ISS, with tonight's Crew-1 being the first.More on StarlinerThe next mission, NASA's Crew-2, is currently scheduled for sometime in spring 2021. The crew will ride to the ISS aboard the same Endeavor Crew Dragon capsule that Behnken and Hurley tested this summer. In July, NASA that astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur (Benhken's wife), European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide had been tapped to crew the mission.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowAdvertisement - Continue Reading Below

Update 11/15/2020 7:52 p.m. EST: We have lift-off! At 7:28 p.m. EST, Crew Dragon Resilience lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts aboard the spacecraft are now on their way to the International Space Station for a sixth-month mission.Shortly after launch, the first stage separated from the spacecraft and returned to Earth, where it stuck its landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions.Just after sundown tonight, NASA and Japan's space agency, JAXA, will send four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket...

NASA SpaceX Crew-1 Mission Launch: How to Watch, Live Updates

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