Astronauts are heading to space from US soil once again! It has been 9 years since the last humans left for space from the United States. This was the last shuttle mission on July 8, 2011. In its place came the commercial crew program. NASA set its sight for Mars and it gave the private sector the job of getting its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The next era of spaceflight has made its grand entrance ushered in by NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
As launch dates were pushed back, it was the ultimate question. Which company would be the first to launch humans into space? The two contenders were SpaceX and Boeing and each seemed like they were going to edge out the other through this long journey. But in the end, SpaceX has come out triumphant! Their demo last March paved the way for their launch with the first commercial crew astronauts this Wednesday.
How were Americans getting to space in the meantime since shuttle discontinued almost a decade ago? We have had to rent out seats on the Russian Soyuz. NASA has been paying about 86 million dollars per seat so you can see how anxious they are to be less dependent on the Russian rocket. Although working with Russia may seem counterintuitive when considering politics or even the fierce competition of the early days in the space age, it has been the norm since the creation of the ISS. The ISS is a joint enterprise between the two nations with many other countries contributing (an American and a Russian both entered the first module at the same time to indicate this partnership). As the ISS will be both countries laboratories in space until 2024, NASA astronauts won’t quite yet be able to quit those Russian language lessons.
Alright, lets get to the good stuff. When and where can you watch it?
The launch is scheduled for 4:33pm 5/27 EDT (20:33 5/27 UTC). The weather as of my writing this Sunday night is only 40% favorable for launch. In that case the entirety of the schedule will be pushed for 3:22pm 5/30 EDT (19:22 5/30 UTC) or 3:00pm 5/31 EDT (19:00 UTC). Ughhh Florida weather AM I RIGHT PEOPLE?!?!? Anyways, I will update everything if there is indeed no launch to the respective new schedule.
Uhhh Ohhh! We had a launch scrub! All times have been updated tI will update as the schedule is announced.
Coverage can be seen on SpaceX (S) or NASATV (N).
Saturday 5/30
11:00 am EDT (15:00 UTC) coverage begins. N/S
3:21 pm EDT (19:21 UTC) Go for launch given N/S
3:22 pm EDT (19:22 UTC) LIFTOFF!!!! N/S
3:31 pm EDT (19:31 UTC) first stage lands N/S
6:30 pm EDT (22:30 UTC) Post launch news conference N
Sunday 5/31
10:29 am EDT (14:29 UTC) Docking to ISS N
12:45 pm EDT (16:45 UTC) hatch opening (astronauts enter the ISS with a little greetings from their newest roommates) N
1:05 pm EDT (17:05 UTC) welcome event N
3:15 pm EDT (19:15 UTC) post-docking briefing N
SpaceX has a pretty detailed list of their launch procedures along with the mission trajectories if you are keen on getting a head start to all the mayhem.
I can’t wait to watch such a momentous event with you all!
Happy Exploring!
