The astronauts assigned to fly on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 missions are now en route to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final launch preparations.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), departed by plane from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for the short flight to the launch site. The crew is expected to arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy this afternoon.
Crew-1 astronauts will be greeted at arrival to the launch site by leadership from NASA and JAXA for a brief welcome ceremony targeted for approximately 1:45 p.m. EST. The event is scheduled to broadcast live, if weather permits, on NASA Television and the agency’s website with the following speakers:
- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
- NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard
- Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana
- Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, JAXA
- NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, spacecraft commander
- NASA astronaut Victor Glover, pilot
- NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, mission specialist
- JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist
Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft on the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff is targeted for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.