Category: SpaceX

The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage has reached main engine cutoff, known as MECO, and the first and second stages have separated. As the second stage continues carrying Crew Dragon on its flight, the rocket’s first stage will attempt a targeted landing on a droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

We have liftoff! At 9:03 p.m. EST, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft lit up the night sky at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending Crew-3 astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer on the start of a 22-hour journey to the International Space Station.

Coming up in just one minute, the rocket will pass through Max Q – the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket. Following this, the Falcon 9’s first and second stages will separate.

Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance by the crew, is now just five minutes away. Everything is proceeding according to schedule, and all is looking good for the Crew-3 launch!

The second stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is being loaded with liquid oxygen, and everything remains on track for a targeted 9:03 p.m. EST liftoff. Inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft are NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer. This will be the third spaceflight for Marshburn and the first for Chari, Barron, and Maurer.

The crew access arm has retracted, and in just a few minutes, Crew Dragon Endurance’s launch escape system will be armed. This will allow the Crew-3 astronauts to escape safely in the unlikely event of an anomaly from the moment the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off until the time they reach orbit – a timespan of roughly 12 minutes.

Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying Crew-3 astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and Matthias Maurer, is now just a little under an hour away. The mission director has given the “go” for propellant loading, and about 10 minutes from now, the crew access arm will swing away from the spacecraft as launch preparations continue.

Stay with us here on the blog as countdown coverage continues, or watch live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. More details about this mission and the Commercial Crew Program can be found in the online press kit, or by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew, and commercial crew on Facebook.

The hatch is now closed on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance by the crew. Liftoff of NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer is just a little under two hours away (9:03 p.m. EST) for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission.

The crew has finished executing communication checks with the launch team, and their seats have been rotated into position for launch.

The Crew-3 astronauts are now boarding SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which they have named Endurance, for this mission. Before entering Endurance, each of the crew members signed their name on one of the walls inside the White Room – the connecting area between the crew access arm and the spacecraft.

As the astronauts enter the spacecraft, their seats are configured in an upright position. Once the crew is securely inside, the seats will be rotated into a reclined position for launch, just before teams close Endurance’s side hatch – this coming up in a little more than 30 minutes.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer have arrived at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft await liftoff.

In the next few minutes, the crew will take the elevator up the pad’s launch tower and walk down the crew access arm into the White Room – the final Earth-bound stop for the crew before entering the spacecraft.