Watch: NASA and SpaceX’s most anticipated rocket launch of the year [live stream]
It’s a big day for Americans today. SpaceX and NASA will make history by sending the first crewed flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in nearly a decade.
Update 30 May 2020: SpaceX and NASA’s “Launch America” mission is still on track for today. Lift off is scheduled for 21:22 SAST, from the historic Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
The first attempt to launch – on Wednesday 27 May 2020 – was called off about 17 minutes before liftoff due to inclement weather; the risk of lightning and other weather hazards was too high. Watch the launch on the live streams embedded below.
Update 27 May 2020 at 22:22: SpaceX postponed the launch at the last minute due to “unfavourable weather in the flight path”.
The team tweeted that the next “launch opportunity is Saturday, 30 May at 15:22 EDT, or 19:22 UTC.” For us in South Africa, that will be 21:22 on Saturday. Read more here.
SpaceX and NASA launch, 27 May 2020
On 26 May, SpaceX confirmed:
“Team is performing additional pre-flight checkouts of Falcon 9, Crew Dragon, and the ground support system ahead of tomorrow’s [27 May] Demo-2 mission. Weather forecast for launch is 60% favourable”.
Date and Time
It’s been nearly a decade since NASA’s spaceflight program was halted, which meant that American astronauts had to rely on Russian Soyuz rockets for crewed flights to and from the ISS.
NASA has partnered with SpaceX to make history on 27 May 2020, at 16:33 Eastern Time (22:33 South African Standard Time SAST) by sending the two astronauts to the ISS.
Watch the historic launch live
NASA and SpaceX provide joint, live coverage from launch to arrival at the space station. The teams are targeting 22:33 SAST for the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
We’ve also added a live stream from Everyday Astronaut, who is just 5km away from the action, and the LabPadre stream, another trusted streamer from Boca Chica, Texas. Enjoy!
NASA live stream
NASA’s stream will go live at 18:00 on 27 May.
SpaceX live stream
SpaceX’s stream will go live at 18:15 on 27 May.
Everyday Astronaut live stream
Currently live, camera focused on the space centre
LabPadre stream
Currenlty live, camera focused on the space centre
Why is the NASA/SpaceX launch a big deal?
The May mission will be a milestone for NASA, which has had trouble turning the page on the space shuttle era. Shuttles transported American astronauts into space for three decades, however, two shuttles blew up.
NASA subsequently abandoned the space shuttle program in 2011 and turned to private industry to develop its next-generation spacecraft. SpaceX developed Crew Dragon and Boeing developed the Starliner.
SpaceX has made 15 unmanned trips to the ISS since 2012, to deliver supplies to the crew aboard the station. However, today’s launch will be a bit different: two humans are tagging along for the ride.
Launch location
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon will lift off from Launch Complex 39A – the same place Saturn V launched humanity to the Moon and from where the first and final Space Shuttle missions lifted off.
Watch: Saturn V from Complex 39A
Who will SpaceX be sending to the ISS?
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley have been training for years for the mission, which would move the United States closer to no longer being reliant on Russia for crewed flights.
Behnken and Douglas have been flying to the ISS on Soyuz rockets since the US shuttle program ended. Hurley said, “it’s been a long road”. He is looking forward to being one of the first humans to fly in the Crew Dragon capsule.
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