SpaceX prepares to send four astronauts to the International Space Station — watch it live
1.
Meet the Crew voyaging to the ISS today — published at 10:01 GMT
On board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft are two NASA astronauts: commander Jessica Meir (USA) and pilot Jack Hathaway (USA). They’re joined by European Space Agency astronaut and mission specialist Sophie Adenot (France), and Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Andrey Fedyaev (Russia).
This quartet is known as Crew-12, SpaceX’s 12th crewed rotational flight to the International Space Station.
The crew has spent the past few days in quarantine at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida since arriving at the launch site on February 6.
2.
“Crew-12 is go for launch” — SpaceX
A short while ago, the four astronauts boarded the spacecraft in preparation for their journey to the ISS.
They will spend around two hours strapped securely in their seats before liftoff.
SpaceX confirmed in a post on X that “Crew-12 is go for launch.”
3.
What you need to know about the Dragon and Falcon 9
The four crew members will travel to the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, powered by the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Falcon 9 will launch the crew into orbit, then detach from the Dragon capsule and return to Earth to be reused on future missions.
The Dragon, using its own engines, will then rendezvous with and dock at the space station.
Since 2020, SpaceX has been NASA’s primary transportation provider to the ISS, operating under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which replaced the retired Space Shuttle with private-company flights.
The Crew Dragon regularly carries NASA and private missions to and from the ISS.
4.
Watch live: rocket set to launch astronauts to the International Space Station
With less than an hour remaining, SpaceX, NASA, and the four astronauts are poised for launch, weather permitting.
The crew — drawn from NASA, the European Space Agency, and Roscosmos — will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
After two previous delays, the launch is now scheduled for 05:15 EST (10:15 GMT).
Catch every moment live at the top of the page.
