Liftoff! Crew-6 Lights Up the Florida Early Morning Sky

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop, lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, 2023. NASA/Frank Michaux

The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft roared off of Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:34 a.m. EST! Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Andrey Fedyaev have successfully begun their approximate 24.5-hour journey to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission.

Max Q will happen during the next minute.

Crew-6 Reaches Terminal Count for Launch from Kennedy

The RP-1 rocket fuel load for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission launch is complete.

It’s just a few minutes until liftoff, and all looks good for the Crew-6 launch! There is still time to tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website to watch the rocket and spacecraft blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission 20 Minutes from Launch

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission
Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida is proceeding on schedule for a 12:34 a.m. EST launch. Photo credit: NASA

Fuel loading is complete on the second stage, and liquid oxygen loading has begun. Everything remains on target for the 12:34 a.m. EST launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida.

Weather conditions remain extremely favorable. Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website for a live broadcast.

The mission is the sixth crew rotation flight of a Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, who will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who will serve as mission specialists.

Propellant and Liquid Oxygen Loading Underway for Crew-6 Launch

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

Liftoff, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is at 12:34 a.m. EST.

Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website for a live broadcast.

Dragon Endeavour Spacecraft Launch Escape System Armed

The launch escape system for the Dragon spacecraft Endeavour 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 emergency.

Crew-6 will carry two NASA astronauts – Mission Commander Stephen Bowen and Pilot Warren Hoburg – along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who join as mission specialists, to the International Space Station. Liftoff is targeted for 12:34 a.m. EST, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.

Up next is propellant loading.

Crew Access Arm Retracted for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Launch

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission
The crew access arm retracts from SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft in preparation of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA

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

More details about the mission can be found on the Crew-6 blog, in the press kit online and by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research  on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook account.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission: Teams ‘Go’ for Fueling

The SpaceX launch director polled the NASA and SpaceX leaders in Firing Room 4 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and gave a GO for fueling for the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft that will carry NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, for a science expedition mission aboard the International Space Station. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A is set for 12:34 a.m. EST.

At 35 minutes prior to launch, SpaceX teams will begin loading rocket grade kerosene followed by liquid oxygen for the first and second stages of the Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon will transition to internal power five minutes before launch, and the launch director will give the final GO for launch 45 seconds before liftoff.

More details about the Crew-6 mission can be found by following the Crew-6 blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Crew-6 on Track for 12:34 a.m. EST Launch from Kennedy Space Center

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop, stands ready for liftoff at Kennedy’s Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 crew members Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Andrey Fedyaev will launch to the International Space Station at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2. Photo credit: NASA

In less than an hour (12:34 a.m. EST), the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with Endeavour atop, will lift off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida for NASA’s Space X Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.

The mission is the sixth crew rotation flight of a Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, who will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who will serve as mission specialists.

The crew will dock Endeavour to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 24.5 hours after liftoff. Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station at approximately 1:17 a.m. EST on Friday, March 3.

Later this month, the four SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts currently on the space station will enter the Dragon Endurance spacecraft and undock from Harmony’s space-facing port for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida. Endurance Commander Nicole Mann, Pilot Josh Cassada, and mission specialists Koichi Wakata and Anna Kikina have been living and working on the space station since Oct. 6, 2022.

Crew-6 is scheduled for a long-duration stay of up to six months aboard the space station, conducting science and maintenance before returning to Earth. Follow along here on the blog or tune in to the live broadcast on NASA Television and the agency’s website.