Live Updates
What happened: SpaceX’s second attempt to launch two NASA astronauts on a mission to the International Space Station was successful.
Why it’s important: This is the first crewed spaceflight to take off from US soil in nearly a decade.
NASA and SpaceX will keep their livestream rolling at least until SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, dock with the International Space Station tomorrow.
Docking is scheduled for 10:27 am ET Sunday.
For now, Behnken and Hurley are biding their time on Crew Dragon, and making sure that the spacecraft’s autonomous systems are functioning properly while the spacecraft slowly eases itself on a path to rendezvous with the ISS.
NASA will host a press conference at 6:30 pm ET.
Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made it through one of the most dangerous portions of their journey: Getting from the launch pad into Earth’s orbit.
The mission so far has gone flawlessly, and SpaceX engineer Lauren Lyons, who frequently hosts SpaceX’s mission webcasts, was visibly emotional in the moments after the spacecraft safely reached space.
“I can’t believe it with my own eyes. I’m so grateful they’re up there.”
The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, is now flying free through Earth’s orbit. The capsule uses tiny thrusters to stay oriented and help steer the spacecraft toward the International Space Station.
It’s a slow and precise journey. Behnken and Hurley will spend about 19 hours in the spacecraft as climbs toward the ISS, where they’re expected to dock around 10:30 am ET tomorrow.
Watch:
The rocket just hit “MECO” – or main engine cutoff. That means the 9 Merlin engines attached to the rocket’s first-stage, the ones that give the initial thrust at liftoff, are done burning fuel for now.
The first-stage of the rocket then broke off from the second-stage rocket, which has its own massive engine optimized for blasting through space where the atmosphere is super thin.
The second-stage lit its engine, and it’s now powering the Crew Dragon capsule to higher and higher speed.
It’ll need to hit at least 17,000 miles per hour to reach “orbital velocity.” That essentially means the spacecraft will be traveling so fast, at just the right angle, that it’ll begin to continuously fall around the earth — otherwise known as orbiting.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket just lit its engines, and astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are now soaring into the upper atmosphere.
Soon, the first-stage rocket booster will detach, and the second-stage of the rocket will light up its own engine — and that will accelerate Behnken and Hurley’s capsule to orbital velocity.
No astronauts have made this journey after launching from the United States since NASA’s Space Shuttle Program retired in 2011
Watch:
The astronauts on board Crew Dragon just shared a final exchange with mission control:
SpaceX is almost done loading the fuel onto the rocket.
Not many checks or milestones remain before liftoff.
At Kennedy Space Center, the nerves are palpable at the press site.
After spending much of the day wondering if the weather would dash another day of preparations, the latest updates have given today’s mission a new sense of reality.
The countdown clock has already passed the mark where it stopped at on Wednesday.
SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell made her first appearance on the NASA-SpaceX webcast.
Shotwell, one of the first dozen employees to join the company, handles most of SpaceX’s day-to-day operations.
The “go/no-go” poll involves several check-ins among flight controllers, weather officials and mission control.
And during the first poll, which happened about 45 minutes left on the countdown clock, weather officials gave the answer everyone wanted to hear: The forecast is looking good right now.
But things can still change. If at any time, the weather shifts and violates some of the pre-set rules for conditions, the launch could be called off.
Officials will continue monitoring the weather closely until about a minute before liftoff, when the rocket’s automated computers take over.
Hear more:
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is now being loaded up with more than 1 million pounds of fuel.
The rocket uses two types of fuel: RP-1 (or “Rocket Propellant 1, a type of refined kerosene) and LOX (or liquid oxygen) — which serves as an oxidizer to keep the engine burning after liftoff.
LOX is made of oxygen made so cold it turns liquid, and after it’s loaded, viewers will be able to see what looks like steam or smoke emanating from the rocket. That’s just the super-chilled oxygen boiling off the side of the rocket as the surrounding air heats some of the excess LOX.
The abort system is now armed on Crew Dragon, which means that if anything goes wrong with the rocket from now on, astronauts Bob Bhenken and Doug Hurley will be able to make an extremely speedy exit.
Crew Dragon is equipped with special engines — called Super Draco thrusters — that are designed to blast the crew capsule away from a malfunctioning rocket, taking the astronauts to safety.
That special capability is one reason why NASA says SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is much safer than its predecessor — the Space Shuttle.
Mother Nature appears to be on SpaceX’s side today.
The launch teams just finished the initial “go/no-go” poll, and it’s all systems go.
There was questionable weather earlier in the day. But as the launch controllers checked in before fueling the rocket, weather officials said they were in the clear.
SpaceX’s John Insprucker said they remain cautiously optimistic that conditions will remain acceptable all the way to launch time.
The chance of a weather scrub is also much better at 30%. Earlier in the day, weather officials had given a 50-50 probability.