NASA's SpaceX Crew Launches To International Space Station

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

A SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 15

An international crew of astronauts is scheduled to dock to the International Space Station's Harmony module tonight. The crew was propelled on the Crew Dragon spacecraft by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission lifted off at 7:27 EST Sunday at Kennedy Space Center. The crew consists of NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker as well as Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), who will begin a six-month science mission at the station. 

According to NASA, "the Crew-1 mission is the first of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program." The mission has several firsts, including "the first flight of the NASA-certified commercial system designed for crew transportation, which moves the system from development into regular flights." 

The astronauts named the Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience. To watch ongoing live coverage, go here. To read the full story, go here.