NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Crew Heads for Launch Pad

The Tesla Model X carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley is photographed from a chase vehicle on the way to the launch complex. An astronaut can be seen waving to the photographer. Image credit: NASA TV

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are on their way to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A after departing the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building across the spaceport.

A Tesla with a tag that reads “ISSBND” is photographed at historic Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23, 2020, ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station.
A Tesla with a tag that reads “ISSBND” is photographed at historic Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23, 2020, ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: Kim Shiflett

Their ride to the pad is a white, customized Tesla Model X outfitted with cooling air for the crew’s suits. Their vehicle – which bears a license plate meaning “ISS Bound” – is traveling in the middle of a convoy including support team members and security personnel.

At the launch site, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are ready for the crew’s arrival.