From left, Crew-1 astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are on their way to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A after departing the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building across the spaceport. They are right on schedule.
Before leaving, they paused to wave and acknowledge the small group of family, friends and support team members who gathered to see them off. Then they climbed into their customized white Tesla Model X vehicles for the 20-minute ride to the pad.
The crew’s vehicle 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, named Resilience by the crew, are ready for the astronauts’ arrival.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts just walked out of the double doors below the Neil A. Armstrong Building’s Astronaut Crew Quarters and made their way out to the customized Tesla Model X cars that will take them to their spacecraft.
Crew-1 astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi put on their SpaceX spacesuits and will soon depart the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building and head out to the pad.
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Douglas Hurley speak to members of the media after arriving at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 20, 2020, ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
On Saturday, May 30, 2020, at 3:22 p.m. EDT, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made their way into the history books. The Demo-2 mission was the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
That paved the way for NASA certification of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, which allows the agency to regularly fly astronauts to the space station, and ends sole reliance on Russia for space station access.
For today’s Crew-1 launch, NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifting off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A in Florida, for a full duration mission on the space station. It is the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification.
Crew-1 astronauts will join the Expedition 64 crew of Commander Sergey Ryzhikov, and Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins. The arrival of Crew-1 will increase the regular crew size of the space station’s expedition missions from six to seven astronauts, adding to the amount of crew time available for research.
Today’s launch is targeted for 7:27 p.m. EST. There remains a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions at liftoff.
Crew-1 astronauts are suited up inside the suit room at Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are suiting up for today’s launch to the International Space Station. The Crew-1 crewmates are in the suit room in the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building.
A team of SpaceX suit technicians will help them as they put on their custom-fitted spacesuits and check the suits for leaks.
Crew-1 astronauts have received their weather briefing. The NASA team that has worked with Commander Mike Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialists Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi throughout their quarantine at Kennedy Space Center has handed over the astronauts to the team of SpaceX suit technicians, who will help them suit up.
Designed for safety and functionality, SpaceX spacesuits also provide modern comfort and style. The spacesuit provides pressurization, protecting from potential depressurization. A port on the suit’s thigh connects to life support systems, including air and power.
The suits also include touchscreen-compatible gloves and a flame-resistant outer layer. The helmet is custom manufactured using 3D printing technology and includes integrated valves, mechanisms for visor retraction and locking, and microphones.
The four astronauts dedicated the official Crew-1 mission patch to their families.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft stand on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A during final preparations for launch on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. Liftoff is scheduled for 7:27 p.m. EST.
Below are some key milestones for today’s Crew-1 mission. Launch is targeted for 7:27 p.m. EST.
3:12 p.m. Crew weather brief
3:22 p.m. Crew handoff
3:27 p.m. Suit donning and checkouts
4:05 p.m. Crew walkout from Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building
4:12 p.m. Crew transportation to Launch Complex 39A
4:32 p.m. Crew arrives at pad
4:52 p.m. Crew ingress
5:07 p.m. Communication check
5:12 p.m. Verify ready for seat rotation
5:13 p.m. Suit leak checks
5:32 p.m. Hatch close
6:42 p.m. SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
6:45 p.m. Crew access arm retracts
6:49 p.m. Dragon spacecraft launch escape system is armed
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will fly to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission. Launch is slated for 7:27 p.m. EST today from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A.
Good afternoon and welcome to live coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission — the first crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station following the spacecraft system’s official human rating certification.
Here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — named Resilience by the crew — awaits liftoff later today. NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will fly to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission. Launch is slated for 7:27 p.m. EST from Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A.
The countdown is proceeding according to schedule. At the Florida spaceport’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, the astronauts have eaten and will undergo medical checks and get a weather briefing before suiting up.
Stay with us as the countdown continues. We’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this historic mission. Starting at 3:15 p.m. EST, on NASA Television and the agency’s website, there will be continuous live coverage of important Crew-1 activities.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen just before sunrise on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-1 mission, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission is the first crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are scheduled to launch at 7:27 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 15 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch an international crew of astronauts to the International Space Station today. Lift off of the first NASA-certified, commercial human spacecraft system, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for 7:27 p.m. EST.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and astronaut Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will begin their launch day preparations for the Crew-1 mission shortly before noon. NASA TV coverage begins at 3:15 p.m. Sunday for their prelaunch preparations, including their spacesuit fits and walkout shortly after 4 p.m. so they can travel to the launch pad.
The U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron continues to predict a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for lift off of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria. Teams also are monitoring weather conditions downrange across the Atlantic on the spacecraft’s ascent path to orbit; conditions downrange currently are “go.” The primary weather concerns for launch will be cumulus clouds and associated precipitation, along with electric fields from any more robust showers.
