Good afternoon from Kennedy Space Center! At Launch Complex 39A, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand ready for liftoff in an instantaneous launch window at 12:31 p.m. EDT. Dragon’s internal countdown is running and propellant loading is underway.
It’s sunny and warm across Florida’s Space Coast. Launch Weather Officer Mike McAleenan with the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron is monitoring conditions in the launch area, but weather is not expected to pose a problem. The current weather prediction is 80 percent “go” at launch time.
Today’s launch is a cross-country effort. Launch controllers at the Florida spaceport are working in concert with teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and SpaceX’s control center in Hawthorne, California. The launch blog originates from the NASA News Center here at Kennedy, about three miles from the launch complex.
There’s more to come, so stay with us.