WATCH: NASA launches SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the SXM 7 satellite for SiriusXM on Sunday morning. It will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff has now been pushed back to 11:30 a.m. You can see the liftoff in a livestream below. According to the SpaceX website, the Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster supporting the launch previously supported the Crew Dragonโs first flight to the International Space Station, as well as four of the Starlink launches this year. Related Content:
NASA launches SpaceX to International Space Station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company. It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. NASA policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA turned to private companies to haul cargo and crew to the space station, after the shuttle fleet retired in 2011.
NASA, SpaceX launch astronauts from US soil for the first time in a decade
CNN โ A SpaceX rocket and spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts soared into outer space Saturday โ marking the first time humans have traveled into Earth's orbit from US soil in nearly a decade. NASA astronauts launch into space on SpaceX rocketThe spacecraft is expected to dock with the space station around at 10:29 a.m. The United States hasn't launched its own astronauts into space since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011. SpaceX has been working on the Crew Dragon spacecraft for 15 years. The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft has moved forward despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shuttered both private and government operations across the US.
SpaceX-NASA launch: What to know ahead of todayโs scheduled flight
And yes, the Crew Dragon does have a toilet โ just in case. But one astronaut who worked on the Crew Dragon program said he has seen the design and said the accommodations are "perfectly adequate for that task." Officials in both countries have held up their symbiotic relationship on the International Space Station as a beacon of post-Cold War cooperation. NASA officials said Russia and Japan, another ISS partner, both joined discussions for a Crew Dragon safety review last week. Each Crew Dragon spacecraft could also make multiple trips to space, the company has suggested.
How to watch the historic astronaut launch with your children: Thereโs an invaluable lesson here
If it goes off as planned, this will mark the first mission involving astronauts from U.S. soil since 2011. Still, NASA astronaut Bob Behnken has said he and Doug Hurley are โreally comfortableโ with the risks. So youโre making educated guesses, at best.โIt seems thereโs just more uncharted territory when it comes to space travel. โThe first astronauts really started out as test pilots,โ Garfinkle said. But assuming this launch goes well, โIt would be great for kids to see a successful, triumphant moment of science,โ Fink said.
SpaceX-NASA launch: What to know ahead of Saturdayโs scheduled flight
And yes, the Crew Dragon does have a toilet โ just in case. But one astronaut who worked on the Crew Dragon program said he has seen the design and said the accommodations are "perfectly adequate for that task." Officials in both countries have held up their symbiotic relationship on the International Space Station as a beacon of post-Cold War cooperation. NASA officials said Russia and Japan, another ISS partner, both joined discussions for a Crew Dragon safety review last week. Each Crew Dragon spacecraft could also make multiple trips to space, the company has suggested.
Everything you need to know about SpaceXโs historic astronaut launch
On Wednesday, the company will attempt to launch two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in a mission called Demo-2. 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 had already put money toward SpaceX's development of the Dragon spacecraft used for transporting cargo. But one astronaut who worked on the Crew Dragon program said he has seen the design and said the accommodations are "perfectly adequate for that task." Each Crew Dragon spacecraft could also make multiple trips to space, the company has suggested.