SpaceX is counting down to launching its first astronaut flight in 2024, and you’ll be able to see it take off live online, but you’ll need to know where and when to watch.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on behalf of NASA for the Crew-8 mission. Departure is currently currently planned Saturday, March 2, 23:16 EST (0416 March 3 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but exactly when the mission will launch will depend on weather and launch vehicle readiness.
Read more: SpaceX Crew-8 astronaut mission: Live updates
Crew-8 will send NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barrett, Jeannette Epps, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin on a six-month mission to the ISS. The space quartet will rescue their colleagues from SpaceX’s Crew-7 mission. Here’s when they’ll launch and how long the flight will last.
When will SpaceX launch Crew-8 astronauts?
SpaceX’s goal right now is Saturday, March 2For the launch of the Crew-8 astronaut mission for NASA. Liftoff is set for an instant launch window 23:16 EST (0416 GMT).
The “instantaneous window” means that, unlike some NASA shuttle missions that have wait times of several minutes, SpaceX only needs to launch at the exact target time to reach the ISS on time.
Previously, SpaceX had targeted Crew-8’s launch just after midnight on March 1, and the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Airborne Squadron had predicted an 85% chance of good weather at launch time. According to the forecast, high winds and precipitation during takeoff or the potential for flying in the rain are the only concerns.
However, NASA and SpaceX postponed the launch to Saturday due to adverse weather conditions at sea.
“Joint teams selected the updated launch opportunity due to adverse weather conditions forecast for Friday, March 1, in offshore regions along the flight path of the Dragon spacecraft,” NASA wrote in an update early Feb. 29. observed along the east coast and is expected to continue into Saturday morning. “In the event of a possible abort during Dragon launch or flight, wind and wave conditions must be acceptable for the safe recovery of the crew and spacecraft.”
NASA and SpaceX had originally aimed to launch the Crew-8 mission on February 22, but pushed it back to February 28 (and eventually March 1) to allow extra time after SpaceX successfully launched a dedicated Intuitive Machines lunar lander on February 18. a) postponed. same pad.
Relating to: NASA chief emphasized safety of Crew-8 launch: ‘Now is the time for a solution:’
Can I watch SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronaut launch online?
Yes, you can watch SpaceX’s Crew-8 launch live online, and you have a few options.
NASA will offer a free online livestream through the NASA TV YouTube channel and NASA+ streaming service, as well as the NASA TV streaming service. Webcast will actually start late March 2, 19:15 EST (0015 March 3 GMT) and go through the spacecraft separation.
Approximately 2 hours after launchNASA is expected to hold a post-launch press conference to discuss the results of the launch. This briefing will also be broadcast live via NASA TV and NASA+.
SpaceX will host its own live webcast of the Crew-8 launch on its platform. @SpaceX account on X (formerly Twitter), starting one hour before departure, so March 2, 22:16 EST (0316 GMT).
Space.com will simulcast NASA’s Crew-8 launch livestream on our VideoFromSpace YouTube channel. Begins March 2 at 7:15pm EST. You can also see this live broadcast at the top of this page.
Placement scope
If SpaceX successfully launches Crew-8 astronauts on March 2, it will take them less than 24 hours to reach the ISS, and you’ll be able to watch it live.
NASA will provide live streaming of SpaceX’s Crew-8 docking operations Sunday, March 3, 11:30am EST (1630 GMT)According to NASA’s program.
If all goes well, the Crew-8 Dragon space capsule Endeavor will dock with the ISS. March 2, 14:10 EST (1910 GMT)parking in a forward-facing berth in the station’s US-built Harmony module.
Who are the Crew-8 astronauts?
Although SpaceX originally designed its Dragon crew capsule to carry seven astronauts, the company has only flown a maximum of four people at a time with its crewed vehicles. The Crew-8 mission follows this model. You can see detailed biographies of Crew-8 astronauts on our website. Meet the Crew-8 Astronauts guidebut here is a brief summary.
Crew-8 is led by NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, 42, a US Navy test pilot who joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2017. This will be the first spaceflight of his career.
Senior NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, 64, was a doctor-turned-astronaut who served as a Crew-8 pilot and a flight surgeon since 1992 before beginning his career as an astronaut in 2000. Unlike his crewmates, Barrett has two spaceflights under his belt: a six-month expedition aboard the ISS in 2009 and the 13-day STS-133 shuttle flight in 2011, which marked the final voyage of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery.
NASA astronaut Jeannette Epps, 53, is a Crew-8 mission specialist who made her first spaceflight. Epps, Ford Motor Co. is a physicist and aeronautical engineer who joined NASA’s astronaut corps in 2009 after working at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.
The crew includes 41-year-old Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin from the Roscosmos space agency. Grebenkin joined Roscosmos’s cosmonaut corps in 2018 after flying as a pilot in the Russian Air Force. He has degrees in the engineering, maintenance and repair of aircraft radio navigation systems and radio communications, broadcasting and television.
Relating to: SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts eager to launch to ISS on March 1: ‘Events surprise you, but we are ready’
How long does SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission last?
SpaceX’s entire Crew-8 mission for NASA will take six months (from launch to landing), with the actual launch finished in about 13 minutes.
Crew-8 will mark the fifth flight of Endeavour, the SpaceX Dragon crew capsule that the company used to launch its first manned flight (Demo-2) for NASA in May 2020. 2 and Crew-6 are others) and the special Ax-1 mission for Axiom Space.
SpaceX did not list previous flights of the Falcon 9 first stage booster for Crew-8. The rocket is expected to return to Earth and then land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for reuse.
What if SpaceX can’t launch the Crew-8 mission?
Although the weather looked promising for SpaceX’s March 1 morning launch of Crew-8, SpaceX had to exhaust the first available backup dates for the mission.
“Of course we have two backup opportunities,” Steve Stitch, NASA’s Commercial Crew program manager, said at the Feb. 25 briefing. “Someone else in the evening March 1 23:41 Eastern And then another day, March 2, 23:16 Eastern“
According to the 45th Weather Squadron, the weather forecast for a possible launch at 23:41 EST (0441 GMT) on March 1 has deteriorated slightly, dropping the chance of good weather for this attempt to 65% (down from 85%) .
The weather forecast worsens with a 48-hour delay, reducing the chance of good weather to 40%.
If SpaceX can’t launch on March 2, there will be at least one more backup opportunity on March 3.
The company may try to launch Crew-8 Sunday, March 3, 22:53 EST (March 4 GMT 0352)SpaceX wrote this in its mission overview.
Editor’s Note: You can watch the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-8 to the ISS on this page, starting at 20:00 on February 29 (01:00 GMT on March 1). This story was updated at 1 a.m. EST to reflect the new launch day of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission.