NASA is all set for its first operational commercial crew mission with SpaceX, and will celebrate by broadcasting numerous events for the launch, dubbed Crew-1. Here's how you can tune in.
Crew-1 will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), one more than the standard three-person crew of a Russian Soyuz. Participating Crew-1 astronauts are Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins (NASA), pilot Victor Glover (NASA), mission specialist Shannon Walker (NASA) and mission specialist Soichi Noguchi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
Once at the space station, the four NASA astronauts will join the current Expedition 64 crew of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and two Roscosmos cosmonauts, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, bringing the orbiting laboratory's crew to seven people.
Live updates: SpaceX's Crew-1 astronaut launch for NASA
Crew-1 follows on from the shorter, successful Demo-2 mission that launched in May to the space station with two NASA astronauts, demonstrating that a SpaceX Crew Dragon could safely ferry people to space. NASA plans to shift most of its astronaut launches from Soyuz vehicles to SpaceX and Boeing commercial crew vehicles to allow for larger crews on the station and, launches from Florida.
Blast-off for Crew-1 is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday (Nov. 14) (0049 GMT Sunday, Nov. 15) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If all goes according to plan, docking will happen relatively quickly about nine hours after launch, at 4:20 a.m. EST (0920 GMT) on Sunday. Both events will be broadcast live on NASA Television and here at Space.com.
There are also several other broadcast events to look forward to on NASA TV over the coming week. All the timings of these events are approximate and could change if the launch date or other major events, such as docking, shift.
Tuesday, Nov. 10): 3:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT).
NASA will hold an audio-only flight readiness review media teleconference from Kennedy Space Center. The event will be held at 3:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT). Expected participants are:
- Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of NASA's human exploration and operations mission directorate
- Steve Stich, NASA manager of the Commercial Crew program
- Joel Montalbano, NASA manager of the International Space Station
- Norm Knight, NASA deputy manager of the flight operations directorate
- Benji Reed, senior director of SpaceX human spaceflight programs
- Junichi Sakai, manager of the JAXA International Space Station program
- A representative of the Federal Aviation Administration, who will be announced at a later time.
Thursday, Nov. 12: Time TBD
NASA will hold a prelaunch news conference will take place at Kennedy Space Center, at a time to be determined but no earlier than one hour after the completion of the launch readiness review. Expected participants are:
- Steve Stich, NASA manager of the Commercial Crew program
- Joel Montalbano, NASA manager of the International Space Station
- Kirt Costello, NASA chief scientist of the International Space Station program
- Norm Knight, NASA deputy manager of the flight operations directorate
- Benji Reed, SpaceX senior director of human spaceflight programs
- Arlena Moses, launch weather officer of the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron
Friday, Nov. 13: 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT)
At 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT), NASA will hold a briefing at the facility's launch countdown clock with the following expected participants:
- Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator
- Bob Cabana, Kennedy Space Center director
- Hiroshi Sasaki, JAXA vice president and director general of the human spaceflight technology directorate
- A NASA astronaut representative, who will be announced at a later time
Saturday, Nov. 14: 3:30 p.m. EST (1930 GMT)
At 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT), about four hours before blast-off, NASA TV will begin its coverage of launch preparations and will offer continuous coverage throughout the flight and arrival festivities on Saturday and Sunday. Launch is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. EST (0049 GMT Sunday, Nov. 15).
Sunday, Nov. 15: 4:20 a.m. EST (2120 GMT)
Assuming the launch goes as planned, keep an eye out for the following events during NASA TV's coverage. All event timings are approximate.
4:20 a.m. EST (0920 GMT) — Docking
7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT) — Welcome ceremony from the International Space Station
7:20 a.m. EST (1220 GMT) — Post-docking news conference from the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston with the following participants:
- Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator
- Kathy Lueders, NASA associate administrator of the human exploration and operations mission directorate
- Hiroshi Sasaki, JAXA vice president and director general of the human spaceflight technology directorate
- Mark Geyer, NASA Johnson Space Center director
- Steve Stich, manager of the NASA Commercial Crew program
- Joel Montalbano, NASA manager of the International Space Station
- A SpaceX representative who will be announced at a later date
Monday, Nov. 16: Time TBD
NASA will hold a news conference with NASA astronauts Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi calling in from the International Space Station at a time to be announced later.
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