Commercial Crew Program

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fueling has begun. Rocket grade kerosene (RP-1) loading and first stage liquid oxygen loading is underway. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:27 a.m. EDT.

The crew access arm has retracted. A few minutes later, Dragon’s launch escape system will be 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 confirmation that Dragon is “go” for launch just came through. In just a few minutes, the rocket’s first stage will be loaded with rocket grade kerosene, called RP-1, and liquid oxygen. Then, the second stage will be loaded with liquid oxygen.

The SpaceX closeout team has left the crew access arm. Launch, set for 3:27 a.m. EDT, is now a little more than 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-7 activities.

Follow along with launch activities and get more information about the mission at: Crew-7 Mission Overview. Learn more about commercial crew and space station activities by following the Crew-7 blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

With communication checks complete, the hatch is now closed on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, which previously supported Crew-3 and Crew-5. Liftoff for Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov is just over two hours away (3:27 a.m. EDT).

The Crew-7 crew members now are boarding SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. As they board, their seats are configured in the upright position; later, prior to closure of the spacecraft’s side hatch, the seats will rotate into a reclined position for flight.

All four crewmates 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.

Crew-7 crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov have arrived at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, where SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is ready for them to climb in for launch. Liftoff is slated for 3:27 a.m. EDT.

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.

Crew-7 crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov 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 black Tesla Model X vehicles for the 20-minute ride to the pad.

The crew’s vehicles are traveling in the middle of a convoy, including support team members and security personnel. At the launch site, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, are ready for the crew’s arrival.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 flight crew just walked out of the double doors below the Neil A. Armstrong Building’s Astronaut Crew Quarters and made their way to the customized Tesla Model X cars that will take them to their spacecraft.

Next stop: Kennedy’s historic Launch Pad 39A.

Crew-7 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Experiments will include the collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station, the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and an investigation of the physiological aspects of astronauts’ sleep. These are just a few of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.

While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-7 will see the arrival of cargo aboard both a SpaceX Dragon and a Roscosmos Progress spacecraft. Crew-7 also is expected to welcome the Axiom Mission-3 crew during their expedition. The Soyuz spacecraft with three new crew members also is planned for launch during their stay, and the Soyuz carrying NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will depart after 371 days on the station.

Commercial crew missions enable NASA to maximize use of the space station, where astronauts have lived and worked continuously for more than 22 years testing technologies, performing research, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit, and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted on the space station provides benefits for people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration trips to the Moon and beyond through NASA’s Artemis missions.