Watch SpaceX Launch 4 NASA astronauts on Friday

SpaceX launches four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday morning.

The company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is the first and only commercial vehicle to transport people into space. It is now a cornerstone of NASA’s human spaceflight program.

Friday’s mission, called Crew-2, is SpaceX’s second routine astronaut flight for NASA. The agency has contracted six Crew Dragon missions in total. The first, Crew-1, is still on the ISS. These astronauts will welcome the four newcomers: Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur from NASA, Akihiko Hoshide from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Thomas Pesquet from European Space Agency.

Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel / Tribune News Service via Getty Images

“We want this to become a common way to get to the space station, which means, I don’t know, hundreds of launches on the line, maybe,” Pesquet told a news conference in March.

The astronauts are ready to climb a launch tower to the top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, board the Crew Dragon capsule that is fixed to the top, and then howl into space on Friday at 5:49 a.m. ET.

“We are ready and excited to fly,” McArthur told a news conference.

Watch the historic spaceflight on NASA’s live stream below.

Watch the recycled SpaceX Dragon Endeavor crew fly back into space

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NASA will begin live-broadcasting the launch of Crew-2 on Friday at 1:30 a.m. ET, as astronauts adapt to SpaceX space suits. After that, the astronauts will say goodbye to their families, drive to the launcher in a pair of custom Tesla, climb the launch tower and board the Dragon crew.

With the astronauts tied up and the spacecraft hatch closed, the rocket will be loaded with cryogenically cooled propellant. If all goes well, he should laugh beyond the launcher, into space at 5:49 a.m. ET.

NASA TV has live coverage of preparations, countdown and takeoff:

This special Crew Dragon capsule, called Endeavor, is the same one that flew the first commercial space flight last year, transporting NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS on a demonstration mission. Since then, the capsule has been renovated and modernized.

McArthur will pilot the spaceship, just as Behnken (her husband) did last summer.

“I will launch in the same place. So, it’s kind of fun that we can share, you know, I can tease and say, “Hey, can you hand over the keys? I’m ready to go now, “McArthur said in a recent press release.

The Falcon 9 booster, which is also reusable, is the same one that launched Crew-1 in November.

Friday’s launch was originally set for Thursday morning, but NASA has rescheduled due to an unfavorable weather forecast. If the weather prevents the flight again on Friday, the agency could have the next opportunity to launch on Monday.

After launch, Crew Dragon must orbit the Earth and land at the ISS

NASA / SpaceX

Once the Crew Dragon slips into orbit, it will remain there for almost 24 hours. Probably the astronauts will change their spacesuits, eat, sleep all night, have breakfast, organize their things, and finally put the spacesuits back in place to prepare for their arrival at the ISS.

SpaceX and NASA expect Dragon Crew to perform a series of automatic maneuvers to dock at the ISS on Saturday around 5:10 p.m. Astronauts must adapt if something goes wrong and the Crew Dragon must return to Earth prematurely. NASA TV will also broadcast the docking operation.

SpaceX

The ISS will be crowded with 11 people for at least four days while crew-1 is still on board. Those astronauts – Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi – will return to their own Crew Dragon capsule on April 28.

Their capsule, called Resilience, will then detach from the ISS, push to Earth and fall through the atmosphere. The parachutes should be released, allowing the spacecraft to head for an explosion off the coast of Florida.

Crew-2 astronauts will return in a similar way in about six months.