Category: SpaceX Crew-1

Right on schedule — at T-minus 35 minutes — RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading and first stage liquid oxygen loading has begun.

Liftoff is scheduled for 7:27 p.m. EST.

The launch escape system for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, Resilience, is now armed. From liftoff until they reach orbit, roughly 12 minutes, the crew would be able to escape safely in the unlikely event of an anomaly.

Up next is propellant loading.

The crew access arm has retracted. Coming up next, the Dragon launch escape system will be armed.

Weather has been upgraded from 50% to 80% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. Launch is slated for 7:27 p.m. EST.

Confirmation was received from Commander Mike Hopkins that Crew Dragon, named Resilience by the crew, is “go” for launch! The next call will come at T-mins 45 minutes from the launch director. Weather looks good and we remain on target for a 7:27 p.m. EST launch.

In about 50 minutes, Resilience, with Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi aboard, will lift off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A.

The SpaceX closeout team has left the crew access arm. Launch, set for 7:27 p.m. EST, is now just over an hour away.

Stay with us as the countdown continues. We’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this historic mission. On NASA Television and the agency’s website, there is continuous live coverage of important Crew-1 activities.

Follow along with launch activities and get more information about the mission at: http://www.nasa.gov/crew-1. Learn more about commercial crew and space station activities by following @Commercial_Crew, @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the Commercial Crew Facebook, ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

The hatch is now closed on the Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience by the Crew-1 astronauts. Liftoff for Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi is approximately 90 minutes away (7:27 p.m. EST).

The hatch was briefly reopened after a slight drop in pressure was noted. Troubleshooting around the hatch seal led to discovery of a small amount of foreign object debris (FOD) in the seal. Leak check hardware was reconnected and reports are pressure is holding, and the leak check has passed.

The countdown will continue on track.

Launch configuration communication checks have been executed, with no issues. The seats have been rotated into position for launch.

Crew-1 astronauts are now boarding the Crew Dragon spacecraft, Resilience. As the astronauts board, their seats are configured in the upright position; later, prior to closure of the spacecraft’s side hatch, the seats will be rotated into a reclined position for flight.

All astronauts signed the inside of the White Room, an area at the end of the crew access arm that provides access to the spacecraft. The term “White Room” dates back to the Gemini program. To honor tradition, the room is still painted white today.

Here are the seating positions: Commander Mike Hopkins, seat 2; Pilot Victor Glover, seat 3; Mission Specialist Shannon Walker, seat 4; and Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi, seat 1.

NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have arrived at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, where the Crew Dragon spacecraft, Resilience, is ready for them to climb in for launch. Liftoff is slated for 7:27 p.m. EST.

In the next few minutes, they’ll take the elevator up the pad’s fixed service structure and walk down the air-conditioned crew access arm to the White Room, their final stop before climbing aboard.