by SpaceX is counting down to the launch of its first astronaut flight of 2024 and you’ll be able to watch it unfold live online, but you’ll need to know where and when to watch.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will send four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA on the Crew-8 mission. Liftoff is currently scheduled now Saturday (March 2) at 11:16 pm EST (0416 March 3 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but exactly when the mission will be launched depending on the weather and the readiness of the launch vehicle.
Read more: SpaceX Crew-8 astronaut mission: Live updates
Crew-8 will send NASA astronauts 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 relieve their colleagues from the SpaceX Crew-7 mission. Here is what time they will depart and how long the flight will be.
What time will SpaceX launch the Crew-8 astronauts?
Right now, SpaceX is focusing Saturday, March 2, for the launch of his Crew-8 astronaut mission for NASA. Liftoff is set for an instant launch window at 11:16 pm EST (0416 GMT).
“Instantaneous window” means that SpaceX only needs to launch at its exact target time to reach the ISS on time, unlike some NASA shuttle missions that had a few minutes of hold time to work with.
Earlier, SpaceX was targeting a Crew-8 launch just after midnight on March 1, with the US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicting an 85% chance of good weather at launch time. The only concern is gusty winds and the potential for blowing through precipitation or rain, according to the forecast.
But NASA and SpaceX delayed the launch late Saturday due to unfavorable weather offshore.
“Joint teams chose the updated launch opportunity due to unfavorable weather conditions forecast for Friday, March 1, in offshore areas along the Dragon spacecraft flight path,” NASA wrote in an update early February 29. “High winds and waves throughout the On the east coast it has been observed and is forecast to continue until Saturday morning.In the unlikely event of an abort during the launch or flight of Dragon, the wind and wave conditions must be within acceptable conditions for the crew and safely recover the spacecraft.”
NASA and SpaceX originally intended to launch the Crew-8 mission on February 22, but delayed it to February 28 (and eventually March 1) to allow additional time after SpaceX’s successful February 18 launch of the Commission’s Intuitive Machines private lunar lander. same plot.
Related: ‘It’s white-knuckle time:’ emphasizes safety for Crew-8 launch, NASA chief
Can I watch SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronaut launch online?
Yes, you can watch SpaceX’s Crew-8 launch live online, and you have several options.
NASA will offer a free live stream online through its NASA TV YouTube channel and NASA+ streaming service, as well as its NASA TV broadcast service. The webcast will start late March 2 at 7:15 pm EST (0015 March 3 GMT) and run through separating spacecraft.
About 2 hours after dispatch, NASA is expected to hold a post-launch press conference to discuss the results of the launch. That information will also be streamed live via NASA TV and NASA+.
SpaceX will provide its own live webcast of the Crew-8 launch on a @SpaceX account on X (formerly Twitter), starting one hour before liftoff, that is March 2 at 10:16 pm EST (0316 GMT).
Space.com will simulcast NASA’s Crew-8 Launch live on our VideoFromSpace YouTube channel, starting March 2 at 7:15 pm EST. You can also watch that live stream at the top of this page.
Dock cover
If SpaceX successfully launches the Crew-8 astronauts on March 2, less than 24 hours to reach the ISS and you will be able to watch that live too.
NASA will provide a live stream of SpaceX Crew-8 docking operations starting Sunday, March 3, at 11:30 am EST (1630 GMT)according to NASA’s schedule.
If it goes well, the space capsule Crew-8 Dragon Endeavor will dock itself at the ISS at 2:10 pm EST (1910 GMT) on March 2parked at an advanced berth on the station’s US-built Harmony module.
Who are the Crew-8 astronauts?
Although SpaceX originally designed its Dragon crew capsule to carry up to seven astronauts, the company has only flown a maximum of four with its crewed vehicles. The Crew-8 mission follows that pattern. You can see detailed biographies of the Crew-8 astronauts in our Meet the guide Crew-8 astronautsbut 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 his first career space flight.
Doctor-turned-astronaut Michael Barratt, 64, is a NASA astronaut who serves as a Crew-8 pilot and began his astronaut career in 2000 after serving as a flight surgeon since 1992. Unlike his colleagues, Barrett has two space flights under his belt: his six-month trip on the ISS in 2009 and the 13-day shuttle flight STS-133 in 2011, which marked the final trip of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery.
NASA astronaut Jeannette Epps, 53, who made her first space flight, is a Crew-8 mission specialist. Epps is a physicist and aerospace engineer who joined the NASA astronaut corps in 2009 after working for Ford Motor Co. and for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Rounding out the crew is Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, 41, of the Roscosmos space agency. Grebenkin joined the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps in 2018 after flying as a pilot for the Russian Air Force. He holds degrees in engineering, maintenance and repair of aircraft radio-navigation systems, and in radio, broadcasting and television communications.
Related: SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts eager to launch to ISS on March 1: ‘Things surprise you, but we’re ready’
How long is the SpaceX Crew-8 mission?
While the entire SpaceX Crew-8 mission for NASA will last six months (from launch to landing), the actual launch will be over in about 13 minutes.
Crew-8 will mark the fifth flight of SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavor crew capsule, which the company used to launch its first-ever crewed flight for NASA – Demo-2, in May 2020. It was used to fly three NASA crew (Crew- 2). 2 and Crew-6 the others) and the private mission Ax-1 for Space Axiom.
SpaceX has listed no previous flights for the Falcon 9 first stage booster for Crew-8. The rocket is expected to return to Earth and land at SpaceX Landing Zone 1 at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for later reuse.
What if SpaceX can’t launch the Crew-8 mission?
Although the weather looked very positive for the launch of SpaceX Crew-8 in the early hours of March 1, SpaceX had to contend with the initial backup dates available for the mission.
“Obviously, we have two backup opportunities,” said Steve Stitch, NASA’s Commercial Crew program manager, in a February 25 briefing. “Another evening on March 1 at 11:41 am Eastern and another day after that, March 2, at 11:16 pm Eastern.”
The weather outlook worsened slightly for a possible launch on March 1 at 11:41 pm EST (0441 GMT), dropping to a 65% chance of good weather (down from 85%) for that effort, according to the 45th Weather Squadron.
The weather forecast worsens with a delay of 48 hours, dropping to a 40% chance of good weather.
If SpaceX is unable to launch on March 2, it will have at least one more backup opportunity on March 3.
The company could try to send Crew-8 on Sunday, March 3, at 10:53 pm EST (0352 on March 4 GMT)wrote SpaceX in a mission overview.
Note to the editor: You can watch SpaceX’s Crew-8 launch to the ISS on this page starting February 29 at 8 pm EST (0100 March 1 GMT). This story was updated at 1 a.m. EST to reflect the new launch day for the SpaceX Crew-8 mission.
