On 15 November at 7:27 p.m. Eastern, the flight of four astronauts Crew-1 will liftoff on its way to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A. Despite major hurdles such as a global pandemic, hurricane season, and replacing two rocket engines, NASA and SpaceX are determined to launch the Crew Dragon on Sunday. Named Resilience by the crew, it marks the first operational crew flight to transport humans to and from the International Space Station and operate routine flights from the U.S. soil.
As part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, we saw the launch of SpaceX Demo-2 test flight mission on May 30, 2020 that carried astronauts Doug Hurley and Robert "Bob" Behnken to the ISS for the first time since the final Space Shuttle flight, STS-135, in 2011.
Who are the Astronauts of Crew-1?
At the ISS, the crew will join the three astronauts of Soyuz MS-17 already in space and form the ISS Expedition 64. They will stay for up to 6 months before splashing down in April 2021.
Why is Crew-1 significant?
"We are going to see a lot of firsts when we get up there and fly," said Hopkins, during a press conference in October. This will be the first time where a US spacecraft to be docked with the ISS for 6 months, setting another historic record for the longest docked U.S. capsule. After poring over the data of SpaceX Demo-2 test flight, NASA has certified the Crew Dragon vehicle, making it the first time the agency provided certification for a private crewed vehicle.
Unlike Demo-2 mission which carried only two astronauts, the Crew-1 will accomodate four people, which will enable the astronauts and team on ground to figure out how they will live and operate with double the number of riders.
The members of Crew-1 are embarking on a science mission. With more crew members on-board the ISS, this means that science experiments in microgravity will increase. One of the experiments the astronauts will conduct is called, "Genes in Space-7", a student-designed experiment with the objective to understand how spaceflight effects brain.
Where can I watch the launch?
The spacecraft will dock with the ISS on late Monday evening Eastern time. With the risk of delay in any spaceflight, the launch was initially scheduled for October 31, but NASA pushed back the flight to November 14 after SpaceX found irregularities with the engines.
Due to choppy Atlantic Ocean and high winds, the launch is now scheduled on November 15, with 50% chance of favourable weather conditions for liftoff.
Watch the livestream on NASA TV with over 30 hours of coverage from launch to hatch opening to welcome ceremony. NASA's live coverage will begin at 3:15 PM Eastern Time. Join them in celebrating 20th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the Station.
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