The first launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is now only two days away. Liftoff of the uncrewed flight test, called Demo-1, is targeted for 2:49 a.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The milestone will mark the first launch of a commercially built American rocket and spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for launch on Saturday morning, with the possibility of thick clouds or cumulus clouds posing the main concern.
NASA will broadcast a prelaunch briefing from Kennedy at 4 p.m. today. Participants are:
- Kathy Lueders, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program
- Joel Montalbano, deputy manager, International Space Station Program
- Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
- Pat Forrester, chief, Astronaut Office, Johnson Space Center
- Melody C. Lovin, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron
Learn more about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program in the press kit and by following the @commercial_crew on Twitter and commercial crew on Facebook.