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SpaceX launch

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On Wednesday, NASA is preparing to , the rocket company founded by Elon Musk.

However, weather forecasts for the afternoon looked grim with rain likely around Kennedy Space Center. In addition, a tropical storm, Bertha, formed off South Carolina, which might churn up choppy waves in the Atlantic where the capsule would splash down in case of an emergency during the launch.

It will be the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in July 2011 that NASA astronauts launch from American soil on an American rocket to the International Space Station. And unlike for astronaut launches in the past, when NASA ran the show, this time SpaceX will be in charge of mission control.

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Here’s what you need to know about the launch.

When is the launch and how can I watch it? The launch will take off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:33 p.m. Eastern time.

NASA will , starting at noon.

We’ll also provide a live video stream here on NYTimes.com closer to launch time, and you can join .

Is the weather looking good? . On Wednesday, the forecast from the gave a 50 percent chance that the weather would be good enough at the launchpad to blast off, a slight reduction in odds from the previous day’s forecast. An earlier forecast from the squadron suggested a 90 percent chance of rain after 4 p.m., and a possibility of strong winds in the area.

But because people are flying to space, the weather has to be good in two places: at the launch site and in the long swath of ocean — along the East Coast and then across the North Atlantic to nearly Ireland — where the astronauts might splash down in an emergency. And the formation of Tropical Storm Bertha could interfere with such an operation.

If the launch is postponed, SpaceX and NASA can try again on Saturday and Sunday, with a 60 percent chance of being able to begin the mission on those days.

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Who is blasting off today? The astronauts are , whom NASA selected to be astronauts in 2000.

They have each flown twice previously to orbit on space shuttle missions, although this is the first time they have worked together on a mission.

What are they flying in? SpaceX has never taken people to space before. Its Crew Dragon is a gumdrop-shape capsule — an upgraded version of SpaceX’s original Dragon capsule that has been used many times to carry cargo, but not people, to the space station.

It has space for up to seven people, but will have only four seats for NASA missions. If this launch succeeds, later in the year it is to ferry four astronauts to the space station.

When will the astronauts arrive at the space station? The Crew Dragon is to arrive at the International Space Station 19 hours after launch, shortly before noon Eastern time on Thursday. During that time, the astronauts will test flying the spacecraft and verify that the systems are performing as designed.

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Here’s what you need to know: ImageThe SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft attached on launch pad 39A at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Wednesday. Credit...Chris O'Meara/Associated PressWhen is the launch, and how can I watch it? On Wednesday, for the first time since the retirement of the space shuttles in July 2011, NASA astronauts are scheduled to blast off from American soil on an American rocket to the International Space Station. In contrast to astronaut launches in the past when NASA ran the show, this time a private company, SpaceX, will be in charge of mission control. The company, founded by Elon Musk, built the Falcon 9 rocket and the capsule, Crew Dragon, which the two astronauts will travel in.

The mission is scheduled to lift off at 4:33 p.m. Eastern time from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. will be begin at 12:15 p.m. The Times will also provide a live video of the launch.

Although SpaceX and NASA said the spacecraft was ready to launch on time, . On Wednesday, with rain likely around Kennedy Space Center, the forecast from the gave a 50 percent chance that the weather would be good enough at the launchpad to blast off, a slight reduction in odds from the previous day’s forecast.

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However, weather forecasts for the afternoon looked grim with rain likely around Kennedy Space Center.

But because people are flying to space, the weather has to be good in two places: at the launch site and in the long swath of ocean — along the East Coast and then across the North Atlantic to nearly Ireland — where the astronauts might splash down in an emergency. A tropical storm, Bertha, formed off South Carolina, which might churn up choppy waves in the Atlantic where the capsule would need to be recovered in an emergency.

If the launch is postponed, SpaceX and NASA can try again on Saturday at 3:22 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., with a 60 percent chance of being able to begin the mission on either of those days.

Who is blasting off today? The astronauts are , who have been friends and colleagues since both were selected by NASA to be astronauts in 2000.

They both have backgrounds as military test pilots and have each flown twice previously on space shuttle missions, although this is the first time they have worked together on a mission. Mr. Hurley flew on the space shuttle’s final mission in 2011.

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In 2015, they were among the astronauts chosen to work with Boeing and SpaceX on the commercial space vehicles that the companies were developing. In 2018, they were assigned to the first SpaceX flight.

ImageNASA astronauts Robert L. Behnken, right, and Douglas G. Hurley at SpaceX headquarters in California in October.Credit... Aubrey Gemignani/NASAAround 1 p.m., Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley put on their spacesuits. Mr. Musk and NASA’s administrator, Jim Bridenstine, each wearing surgical masks and standing a socially distanced six feet from the astronauts, shared some final words with the men, who then began their trip to the launchpad.

What are they flying in? SpaceX has never taken people to space before. Its Crew Dragon is a gumdrop-shaped capsule — an upgraded version of SpaceX’s original Dragon capsule, which has been used many times to carry cargo, but not people, to the space station.

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Crew Dragon has space for up to seven people but will have only four seats for NASA missions. If this launch succeeds, it will ferry four astronauts to the space station later in the year.

When will the astronauts arrive at the space station? The Crew Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station 19 hours after launch, at about 11:39 a.m. Eastern time. That time will allow the astronauts to test how the spacecraft flies and verify that the systems are performing as designed. Unless something goes wrong, the Crew Dragon’s computers usually handle all of the maneuvering and docking procedures.

The astronauts also said they planned to .

If the launch is delayed to the weekend, the trip to the space station will take longer, more than 30 hours, because of the orbital path the capsule will need to take to catch up with the space station.

How long will they stay and what will they do? Originally, Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley were scheduled to stay at the space station for only two weeks. But those plans were made when NASA thought the mission would fly in 2019. With delays in the development of Crew Dragon and another capsule, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, NASA ran out of available seats aboard Russia’s Soyuz capsule to the space station. It now finds itself short-handed there, with only one NASA astronaut, Christopher J. Cassidy, currently on the station with two Russian counterparts.

Thus, Mr. Behnken and Mr. Hurley are now expected to stay at the station at least a month to help Mr. Cassidy. Mr. Behnken has trained to perform spacewalks, and Mr. Hurley took refresher classes on how to operate the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm.

Why is NASA working with SpaceX on this? To replace the shuttles, NASA decided to turn to two private companies — SpaceX and Boeing — in essence to produce the rental-car equivalent of spacecraft. NASA would then buy tickets aboard its capsules for the rides to space.

This program has turned out much less expensive than if NASA had developed its own replacement spacecraft, although the capsules have faced many delays on the way to being ready to launch.

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NASA under the Trump administration is also hoping to spur more commercial use of the space station, for purposes including tourism. Although the tickets would be expensive, passengers can buy rides to orbit aboard SpaceX’s capsule and may purchase seats on the Boeing capsule once it is ready to fly.

Why did NASA retire the space shuttles? The decision to retire the space shuttles was made in 2004 during the administration of President George W. Bush after the loss of the Columbia shuttle a year earlier. The shuttles were needed to complete construction of the space station. But their engines, heat tiles and aerodynamics made them complex to fly and maintain. Those factors, and the expense of continuing to operate them, led the Bush administration to decide that the money should be directed instead to sending astronauts back to the moon in a program called Constellation.

The space station was completed in 2011, and the shuttles were retired. The Obama administration, however, decided that Constellation was too expensive and canceled it. It then started the commercial crew program that led to the Crew Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner.

ImageThe Space Shuttle Atlantis touching down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2011, marking the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program.Credit...Philip Scott Andrews/The New York TimesAdvertisement

Site Index Support independent journalism. How to Watch SpaceX Launch Astronauts to the ISS | WIRED arrow-down arrow-left arrow-line-down arrow-line-up arrow-navigate-left arrow-navigate-right arrow-right arrow-up arrow-up-travel checkmark close cnn-go cnn collection-player-info collection-player-leftarrow collection-player-play collection-player-rightarrow collection-player-save collection-player-share comment expand-close expand-open follow games home ireport media-cc media-end media-fastforward media-fullscreen media-minimize media-mute media-pause media-play media-restart media-rewind media-start media-stop media-volume menu profile quote rss search settings share-arrow social-facebook-outline social-googleplus social-instagram social-instagram-outline social-linkedin social-more social-pinterest social-reddit social-stumbleupon social-tumblr social-tvtag social-twitter social-twitter-outline social-vimeo social-vine social-whatsapp social-youtube timestamp trend-down trend-flat trend-up type-audio type-chart type-gallery type-map type-video-large type-video type-video-travel xtype-video-watchcnnlive y01-star-outline y02-star-solid y03-social-messenger y04-social-messenger-bolt y05-entertainment-arrow-left y06-entertainment-arrow-right y07-entertainment-menu y08-entertainment-search y09-entertainment-type-gallery y10-entertainment-type-video y11-type-video360 stick-arrow-up stick-arrow-right sharing link-copy politics-logo catchup-close Here's what you need to know about SpaceX's historic astronaut launch2:01Live UpdatesBy CNN Business' Jackie Wattles

Updated 1:26 p.m. ET, May 27, 2020share with Facebookshare with Twittershare with emailshare link9 PostsSort byLatestOldest Dropdown arrow



Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley left their quarantine area around 1:15 pm ET on Wednesday.

Vice President Mike Pence, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will see the astronauts off — along with the astronauts' families. Behnken and Hurley are both and have small children.

To say farewell, the men, suited up in the SpaceX spacesuits, offered air hugs to their kids.

share with Facebookshare with Twittershare with emailshare linkThis mission will mark a triple crown of historic landmarks:

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Singer Kelly Clarkson briefly joined NASA's livestream — remotely, of course — to sing the national anthem.

The NASA astronauts are expected to begin making their way to the launch pad shortly. Their mode of transportation? Two Tesla Model X's emblazoned with NASA logos.

Vice President Mike Pence, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will see the astronauts off.

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NASA's most famous symbol is the "" — a round, blue emblem studded with stars, which has been with the agency since 1959. But in the 1970s, NASA introduced the "" worm logo.

After ditching the worm in 1992, NASA it would bring the retro logo back for this mission. It's emblazoned in several noticeable places — including on the astronauts' spacesuits and on the side of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which will lift the Crew Dragon spacecraft into orbit.

share with Facebookshare with Twittershare with emailshare linkIn Brevard County, Florida — home to Kennedy Space Center — police officers and military security personnel have put up roadblocks around the launch site. Reporters have to show a bright orange badge and matching ID to get into NASA facilities.

A string of buildings owned by various news outlets, known as "bunkers," sit beneath NASA's giant Vehicle Assembly Building. And reporters are trying their best to spread out, wipe down desks, wear masks and keep their distance. Hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes are being passed around. Luckily, KSC is huge, so there's plenty of room to spread out. And NASA did not allow any visitors on site for this launch.





CNN Business is sharing a bunker with local news reporters at the Orlando Sentinel. This building is like a time capsule from the Space Shuttle era: The walls are decorated with pictures of the giant winged spacecraft vertical on the launch pad.

Also on the walls: Images of how the front pages of the Sentinel looked the morning after the , a reminder of why NASA takes risks so seriously and the events that hastened the end of the Shuttle's 135-flight run.

share with Facebookshare with Twittershare with emailshare linkReporters were clamoring to find out what astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley would scarf down before liftoff. On Tuesday, NASA said the astronauts would be able to order whatever they felt like this morning.

Hurley shared the tidbit everyone wanted to know: He enjoyed some steak and eggs.

Behnken hasn't shared any updates on his meal quite yet. But, reporters are on the case.



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Will the weather hold up for today's launch? It's down to a coin flip.

There's only a 50% chance of favorable conditions for a "go," according to the official weather forecast from the ,

That is a drop from Tuesday's 60% chance for liftoff. More weather briefings are scheduled in the hours ahead of launch.

At the launch site, it began pouring rain around 11:40 am ET. Though, Florida weather is notoriously fickle, so the storm quickly passed.





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Pad 39A at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

NASA and SpaceX plan for liftoff from Florida's Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Florida at 4:33 pt ET. If bad or technical issues get in the way, NASA has May 30 and May 31 down as backup days.

Check back on this page to watch the stream live, or you can watch it on .

The rocket will take off from "," a historic site that has been the starting point of missions dating back to the Apollo era, including the first moon landing in 1969. SpaceX is currently the launch pad from NASA.

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The stakes have never been higher for Elon Musk's SpaceX, as it attempts to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in a mission called Demo-2.

It will mark the first time in history that a commercial aerospace company has carried humans into Earth's orbit. NASA and space fans have waited nearly a decade for this milestone, which will usher in the return of human spaceflight to US soil.

The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft is moving forward despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shuttered both private and government operations across the US. NASA says it must carry on with the mission in order to keep the International Space Station, a giant orbiting laboratory, fully staffed with US astronauts.

The space agency's top official, Jim Bridenstine, also said he hopes this launch will inspire awe and uplift the general public during the ongoing health crisis.

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