SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA’s Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, plus Matthias Maurer from the European Space Agency, launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on time at 9:03 p.m. ET (6:03 p.m. PT) on Wednesday, November 10.
SpaceX tweeted the key moments from the launch as they happened, beginning with the spectacular liftoff that lit up the Florida skies:
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/P2H0r0VaES
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 11, 2021
The Falcon 9 rocket roaring toward orbit, carrying the four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft:
Next up, the main engine cutoff:
Main engine cutoff and stage separation confirmed. Second stage engine burn underway pic.twitter.com/qFtOb4uIUM
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 11, 2021
Here we see the Crew Dragon capsule separating from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage:
Dragon has separated from Falcon 9’s second stage and is on its way to the @space_station! Autonomous docking tomorrow at ~7:10 p.m. EST pic.twitter.com/BSZNHTkQZ5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 11, 2021
The Crew-3 astronauts in orbit and on their way to the ISS:
Footage from inside the Crew Dragon:
Crew-3 on orbit pic.twitter.com/VFP1fXwlfZ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 11, 2021
The Crew-3 launch had been delayed several times due to poor weather conditions and a medical issue involving one of the astronauts. But everything came together for the launch on Wednesday night.
The mission marks the fourth astronaut launch for SpaceX following its first crewed mission in 2020. It also takes the number of people to have visited space to more than 600, with ESA’s Matthias Maurer officially the 600th person in space.
NASA will livestream coverage of the Crew Dragon docking with the ISS, a procedure that’s scheduled to take place at around 7:10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on Thursday, November 11.
This will be followed a short while later by the hatch opening and the welcoming ceremony aboard the station.
The four astronauts will stay aboard the ISS for about six months. This is the kind of life they’ll be living 250 miles above Earth.
